Cavaliers

games to drop into a tie with Brooklyn in the standings at 28-53 — to conclude the regular season Wednesday in Cleveland.

“I’ve won a championship already so I know how that feels,” Smith said. “It’s no knock to the division champions, but we don’t play for those. We play for the gold ball.”

Frank Ntilikina scored a career-high 17 points for the Knicks after LeBron also had complimented the rookie’s improvement before the game. James indirectly had insulted the No. 8 overall pick out of France earlier this season by saying the Knicks should have drafted Dennis Smith Jr. instead. The fourtime NBA MVP also engaged in a shoving match with the rookie guard during the previous meeting between the teams in November.

“I’m thankful for (the compliments). Coming from the top player in this league is not anything,” Ntilikina said. “As a kid I didn’t know I would be here. I didn’t know I would be able to compete against all these guys, all these teams.

“Feedback like that from players like that and all the players in the league is great; it motivates me a lot.”

THAT’S IT: Enes Kanter (back/wrist) and Tim Hardaway (ankle) were out for the Knicks and “most likely” won’t play in Wednesday’s season finale in Cleveland, Hornacek said. If not, Hardaway finishes the first season of a four-year, $71 million contract with a careerbest 17.5 points per game over 57 appearances. Kanter, who can opt out of the final year ($18.6 million) of his deal, has posted averages of 14.1 points and 11 rebounds in 71 games… Beasley led the Knicks with 20 points. EPA

As if it wasn’t clear enough already, LeBron James has it written on his sneakers: ‘I’M KING.’ Then he uses those sneakers to prove it on the court, scoring 26 points and handing out 11 assists in Cleveland’s victory in Knicks’ final game at Garden...