Maybe it was the second end of a back-to-back.
Maybe it was the first lineup tweak of the season, RJ Barrett ruled out shortly before the game.
Maybe it was a fired-up Cavaliers team out for a measure of revenge after last year’s playoff elimination.
Regardless of the exact explanation, the Knicks looked like a flat team — or maybe just a team that couldn’t find its stroke.
The Knicks shot just 35 percent from the field and 17 percent from deep in a 95-89 loss to the Cavaliers at the Garden on Wednesday, splitting a home-and-home, back-to-back battle with Donovan Mitchell and a skeleton crew from Cleveland.
The Knicks (2-3) played without Barrett (knee) and the Cavs (2-3) without Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Ty Jerome.
The Knicks — a deep team that relies on waves of talent rather than game-changing talent — should be built for games like this that test durability, but they couldn’t pass Wednesday’s shooting test.
The Knicks scored just 39 points (many in garbage time) in a poor second half in which they immediately coughed up a lead they would not see again.
The Knicks shot just 32-of-92 from the field and 5-of-30 from 3-point range, getting good looks but repeatedly unable to capitalize.
Particularly off was Julius Randle, who shot just 3-of-15 and was a step slow several times defensively.