SALT LAKE CITY — RJ Barrett called Sunday’s performance sad. Obi Toppin said it was “ridiculous.”

The ugly home loss to the Thunder, when the Knicks allowed a whopping 145 points — the most since Tom Thibodeau arrived — drew a lot of criticism, and it led to a players-only dinner here Monday night to figure things out.

“Just trying to hold each other accountable,” Barrett said after shootaround on Tuesday. “Trying to get this going because we want to win.”

The dinner was called by Julius Randle, according to Barrett, at what could be a seminal moment in the Knicks’ season. They have struggled immensely on the defensive end of late and had lost six of their past nine games entering a difficult five-game road trip in which they will be an underdog in each game. The season is beginning to trend in the wrong direction.

“It was good, good to have a team dinner like that,” said Barrett, who was benched for most of the second half against the Thunder. “Try to figure this out the best that we can. We all care, trying to get this going on the right track.”

Thibodeau has begun to come under criticism lately with the Knicks 24th in defensive rating, second-to-last in made 3-pointers allowed per game (14.1) and their effort lacking in losses to the Nets and Thunder. Barrett felt it was the combination of effort and lack of execution. It certainly doesn’t help that the Knicks have been without shot-blocking dynamo Mitchell Robinson (sprained right knee) and quality perimeter defender Quentin Grimes (sore left foot) has yet to make an impact due to being out so frequently.

“I think with Mitch being out that changes the defense a lot as well because he’s just, what is he, top five in blocks every year?” Barrett said. “That changes a lot, but when one man is down, we’ve got to figure it out.”

This road trip will feature a lot of challenges for that defense, facing the likes of Nuggets duo Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Warriors superstar Steph Curry, Devin Booker and Chris Paul of the Suns, and Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder who just torched the Knicks for 38 points on Sunday.

While the offense has improved, adopting a more fast-paced style — the Knicks are eighth in the league in pace — hasn’t translated into more victories because of the problems at the other end of the floor.

“Offensively, we have a lot of weapons,” Toppin said. “It’s going to be mostly about defense.”

Both Toppin and Barrett supported Thibodeau, and said they believe improvements will be made at the defensive end. Barrett pointed to the Celtics’ poor start last year as proof of how much can change in a season.

“His body of work speaks for itself,” Barrett said of Thibodeau. “He knows what he’s doing. … I didn’t even know he was [getting criticized]. That’s what [happens here]. You win a game, we’re superheroes. You lose, everything sucks. Really just got to take the good with the bad.”

Lately, however, there’s been much more bad than good with the Knicks. Maybe the team dinner can change that.