The retooled Knicks have looked more cohesive since their loss to the Celtics on opening night, but they only split a pair in their next two games against the Eastern Conference’s most recent playoff opponents.

The Knicks jumped out to a 13-point lead in the third quarter Monday night against Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers and lost for the second time in three games to start the season, 110-104 at the Garden.

Darius Garland led the undefeated Cavaliers (4-0) with a game-high 34 points and Mitchell finished with 25 as the Knicks failed to do their part on a busy night in New York sports.

All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson hobbled after a floater in the lane late in the third quarter and briefly headed toward the locker room. But he returned to the bench before the end of the period and returned to the game early in the fourth quarter before finishing with a team-high 21 points – albeit on 8-for-24 shooting – with seven assists.

Josh Hart, who was questionable because of an ankle problem, limped to the locker room late in the fourth quarter, shortly after colliding with Cleveland’s Caris LeVert.

Mikal Bridges scored 19 points while Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who will play at Miami on Wednesday.

Before the game, former Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, now Cleveland’s head coach, said he thought Towns was “an incredible performer” who would make the Knicks “championship contenders.”

The Knicks missed their first seven attempts from 3-point range and trailed by nine in the first quarter before Cam Payne and Towns scored from long range 2:07 into the final 2:07 to help narrow the deficit to 22-18 shorten. Mitchell and Garland each scored seven goals for the Cavaliers in the first game.

Payne drained another three-pointer early in the second to pull the Knicks within one point, and a 9-0 run culminated by a 3-pointer and an inside shot from Hart (16 points, 13 boards). gave them a 36-31 lead midway through the quarter.

A dunk by Bridges and a free throw by Brunson increased the Knicks’ lead to 10, their largest lead of the half, and there were less than three minutes to play before the Cavaliers cut the score to 52-45 at the break.

Bridges topped the Knicks with 10 points in the first half, Hart and Brunson scored nine points each, while Payne and Miles McBride combined for 13 points in two quarters.

The Knicks led by as many as 13 points in the third thanks to OG Anunoby’s 3-pointer with 4:29 left in the third quarter, but two straight, close-range baskets from Garland sparked a 13-2 Cleveland run , which pulled the Cavaliers within two minutes. 74-72 with less than a minute left.

The Cavaliers tied the game in the first minute of the fourth on inside throws from Evan Mobley and Mitchell, prompting Tom Thibodeau to call a timeout.

Brunson came back on the court after the break, but 3-pointers from Georges Niang and Mitchell gave the Cavaliers an 84-80 lead with 9:50 left.

However, Hart helped the Knicks get even again, with two free throws after a hard foul by Niang and a subsequent steal and feed to McBride for the game-winning layup.

But Garland sank two more 3-pointers after an offensive foul on Knicks rookie Ariel Hukporti with a would-be dunk that gave Cleveland a 99-91 lead with 3:51 left. Brunson scored five points and brought the Knicks within three points with 1:41 left, but they got no closer.