Dolan: Isiah accuser was lying

Nearly a decade after a court ruled that Anucha Browne Sanders had been sexually harassed at the Garden and James Dolan handed over a check for $11.5 million in damages, the Knicks billionaire owner remains defiant about the embarrassing scandal.

Dolan insisted he and Isiah Thomas are innocent of any wrongdoing, and accused Sanders of lying.

In an interview that will air Tuesday on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Dolan spoke about the lawsuit and bringing Thomas back to the Garden to run the WNBA’s Liberty. It was a decision many viewed as tonedeaf considering Sanders’ 2007 legal victory in alleging Thomas helped foster a hostile work environment.

Asked if he thought Sanders made up her claims, Dolan said yes.

“I think a bunch of it she did, yes,’’ Dolan said. When asked by Gumbel why Sanders would concoct such a story, he replied: “I was running a business, and she didn’t do very well in it and she was real unhappy about that and she decided to go get a lawyer.’’

Dolan easily could have settled the lawsuit for a few hundred thousand dollars — “My fault,’’ he says now — but pressed on.

“Because I actually believed in the truth,” Dolan told HBO. “The fighter in me came out and said, ‘I’m not going to settle because that’s an admission of guilt and I’m not guilty.’ ”

The entire incident left Thomas as one of the most hated sports figures in New York, after a decidedly unsuccessful stint running (and coaching) the Knicks.

“If you’re trying to paint the picture that I wasn’t at my best here and I didn’t do a good job here in New York, I’m not disagreeing with you,’’ Thomas said.

Asked what grade he would give himself for his stewardship of the Knicks, he answered: “Maybe a Cminus to a D.”

Yet Dolan — who might be even less popular than Thomas — always has felt a kinship with the controversial Hall of Fame guard, no matter how much drama or disrepute Thomas brought to the Knicks.

“I don’t know if I can explain it other than that there’s something inside both of us that’s really quite similar. ... Isiah’s a guy who doesn’t believe in his limitations, and I’m a guy who doesn’t believe in his limitations,’’ Dolan said.