TORONTO — Jeff Hornacek is glad Frank Ntilikina pushed back — literally — against LeBron James. And the Knicks coach is delighted the James-Ntilikina-Enes Kanter kerfuffle occurred, believing it bonded the team despite a loss Monday to the Cavaliers.

“I thought it was great,’’ he said on the newest edition of “The Jeff Hornacek Experience” that debuts Friday night on MSG Networks after the Knicks face the Raptors. “When we played back in the day, there was a lot of that. So you don’t see as much now in today’s game.

“But, you know, whether the comments from LeBron were aimed at Frank or the Knicks or Phil [Jackson] or whatever it was, I was happy that Frank gave him a little shove and then when LeBron stood in front of him and Enes jumped in there. That’s kind of the chemistry that gets developed when guys are playing for each other. You saw Enes jump right in the middle of this and said, ‘Nah you’re not gonna do this to my young guy.’ So that’s a great sign to see the togetherness of our guys.”

The whole soap opera began when James said ahead of the showdown the Knicks blew it by not picking Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. at No. 8 in the 2017 draft. Ntilikina was selected instead. In the first quarter, Ntilikina went to try to grab the ball to inbound it and James stepped in his way and stuck his chest out. Ntilikina shoved him twice. As James was about to react, Kanter got in King James’ face.

Afterward, Kanter mocked James’ nickname, calling him “queen or princess.”

In excerpts obtained by The Post, Hornacek said, “Enes is a tough guy, I had him way back when he was 19 years old in Utah and he’s always been that tough kid and he’s all about the team. There’s no other question for him, no matter what team he’s ever been on — Utah, Oklahoma City, and now here. He’s trying to do the best for the guys on his squad. You gotta love a guy like that, especially in New York.”

Kanter’s emergence as starting center is one of the keys to the Knicks’ shocking 8-6 start, though the record could be inflated. The Toronto match is just the Knicks’ fifth road game in their first 15 contests.

“I think we’re pretty happy with the start of the guys,’’ Hornacek said.

“I think the Garden’s rocking a little bit more now and people are excited the way they’re playing, but we have a lot of work to do. We have to continue to grow our young players and learn from some of the mistakes. But I think we’ve been pretty happy with the strides they’ve been making.”

The Knicks have played the fewest number of road games in the league to this point. At the morning shootaround Friday in Toronto, Hornacek said a young team benefited from the early home games.

“As it turns out, we have a new group together. It helps with their confidence to be able to get wins,” Hornacek said. “The excitement at the Garden and fans gave them a big boost. It’s turns out [the schedule] has been good for us.”