How Lance Thomas knows the Knicks haven’t quit

Lance Thomas has been here before. In the waning weeks of a wretched season, the Knicks’ unofficial captain has seen teammates’ minds wander to summer vacation in other years. Some groups fractured.

That isn’t the case with David Fizdale’s 13-56 team. Though the Knicks possibly are headed to posting the worst record in franchise history, Thomas has been struck by the vibe.

It’s been noticeable to those who cover the team on the road. At the morning shootaround in San Antonio on Friday, the jokes flew along with basketballs. You would never know this carefree team was about to fall 43 games under .500.

“Right now we’re building,’’ Thomas said. “We’re trying to keep our guys fighting, building a culture and having guys finish the season the right way. This is the first season since I’ve been a Knick where everyone’s been completely focused on the season. What we’re doing is definitely working as far as from a team standpoint. I’m definitely looking forward to the future.”

The longest-tenured Knick, Thomas was acquired from Oklahoma City during the 2014-15 season, when coach Derek Fisher led the club to a 17-65 clip that set the franchise record for futility. It was Phil Jackson’s first full season as team president and Thomas saw players stop caring.

“When you’re losing, it’s easy for your mind to veer on what you’re going to be doing when the season’s over,’’ he said. “It’s something that hasn’t plagued this team. I think we’re going to finish the season strong.”

Thomas can’t put his finger on it, but he said he knows the young players are still putting in the same amount of hard work as they did in October. The enthusiasm hasn’t waned, even with the Knicks on their latest losing streak of eight games as they face the Lakers at noon Sunday at the Garden.

“There’s been instances where the losing takes a toll on certain guys,’’ Thomas said. “With this team here, obviously the record isn’t what we want it to be but the morale is high.’’

That’s a credit to Fizdale, who admitted to ensuring the losing doesn’t eat away at the players.

There’s a flip side to this: The Knicks have accepted losing. One NBA scout said recently the last thing you want is to teach young players how to lose.

In the fourth quarter against the Spurs, Fizdale saw some quit when the Knicks got outscored 26-14.

“We were fighting ourselves from frustration,’’ Fizdale said. “The Spurs do that to you. They get you to point fingers and look around for whose fault it was.’’

Guard Frank Ntilikina (groin), out since late January, won’t be back for the Sunday-Monday back-to-back versus the Lakers and Raptors. The best-case scenario has him returning Wednesday against the Jazz, giving him just 12 games to prove himself.

Mario Hezonja was available Friday after an 11-game absence with a leg bruise, but Fizdale chose not to play him — even as the Knicks collapsed in the final period and Noah Vonleh missed the second half with a badly sprained ankle.

Thomas is expected to be a main defender on LeBron James.

“It comes with the territory,’’ Thomas said. “He’s definitely a handful to guard. I always love the challenges of guarding the best. I’ll be ready. Every star that comes to the Garden always finds that extra gear to try to have a career night. He always has great performances in the Garden. If he scores 50 and they lose, we did our job.’’