Cam Thomas says he treats the Knicks no differently than any other team, and the Garden no differently than any other building.

But his game says something different.

Instead of hogging the spotlight, the young Nets guard blossoms into a star every time he steps onto the stage of the world’s most famous arena.

Friday marked Thomas’ second 40-point performance at the Garden in just over six months, and the Nets could use a third in Sunday’s rematch.

“Yeah, he’s not afraid of the bright lights,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said of Thomas. “And I can tell you that from the first shot he made (on Friday). And his teammates knew we had to find him. I tried to do my best to help him, to find him. Obviously they put OG (Anunoby) on him, who is a very good defender and very physical, and he still found a way to score.

“The great thing is that you still have a chance to do it again against the same team. They will feel the same and then he will have to come back and perform again. A great performance from CT, and very happy, because from the start he kept us alive.”

Thomas scored 43 points on Friday, beating Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

He shot 16-for-22 and a blistering 7-for-10 from deep, but watched Brunson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with just six seconds left.

“It’s great, one of the best guards in the league. Against games like that you always try to play well,” said Thomas, who did not take the final shot for the Nets.

With no timeouts, they had to push the ball and ended up with a Dennis Schroder miss at the buzzer, with Thomas never getting a chance to answer.

But he’ll get his chance to answer in Sunday’s rematch, with Brooklyn playing without Nic Claxton and having lost four of their last five.

“Just stay aggressive,” Thomas shrugged. “They were guarding hard, switching, switching, multiple defenders on me, blitzing. So I just had to figure it out. But I just wanted to come out, be aggressive and then just set the tone early.

“First (NBA) Cup game, we just want to set the tone early. So I did a good job on that, a decent job at that. But in the end you always want to win. So, but the good thing about it is we’re playing them again on Sunday so we can get some redemption. So I can’t wait for that.”

Thomas’ 41-point performance against the Knicks on April 12 was the highest-scoring effort for a Net at the Garden.

Friday’s performance not only surpassed that, but tied John Williamson’s second-highest all-time against the Knicks, behind only Kevin Durant’s 53 in 2022.

Only one other visitor has more 40-point games at the Garden before turning 24: Wilt Chamberlain. So, does laconic Thomas enjoy being a Knick villain?

“No, I’ve never really been one to do that. I just try to play against whoever we can, wherever we play. I just try to do my best, put my best foot forward and play the best I can no matter who it is,” said Thomas, who did admit he enjoyed a game-recognizing-game moment with the NFL. great Tom Brady.

“(It) was pretty dope seeing Tom Brady. I was a huge Tom Brady fan growing up. Normally I’m not like that with people, but this was kind of dope. He also looked at me when I hit a 3. So that was definitely a good moment for me. But it’s not really playing (in the garden); it’s just where I play, what team I play on. I just want to put my best foot forward, be aggressive and try to help the team win.”