The New York Knicks hosted the Dallas Mavericks on MLK Day. The Mavericks entered this game winning back to back games at home against the Utah Jazz. The Knicks have been on a skid the past few games as they lost 8 of their last 10 before entering this game. New York is 24-15 all time in MLK day matchups dating back to 1986. Recently, Jalen Brunson was named an All-Star starter for back to back seasons and his third All-Star appearance.
Dallas started off on fire starting off the game with a 16-4 lead. Max Christie had three 3’s within that span. Jalen Brunson did a lot of heavy lifting in the first quarter as he had 7 points. Mitchell Robinson had 8 points and 7 rebounds off the bench in the first quarter. The Mavericks led the Knicks 31-22 entering the second quarter. In the second quarter it would be a complete disaster for the Knicks as they would give up 44 points.
Christie would make another three 3’s in the quarter as well. Cooper Flagg in his first game at Madison Square Garden contributed an 11 point second quarter of his own. Karl-Anthony Towns was held scoreless in the first quarter; he had nine points in the second. The worst part was the New York faithful booed their team after a horrible quarter where they trailed as many as 30 points. At halftime the Mavericks led 75-47.
In the third quarter, the Knicks would try to cut their deficit down but Dallas kept firing. Max Christie would make two more three’s and he would finish the game with eight threes. Brunson, Towns, and Landry Shamet would be the only Knicks that would make a field goal in the 3rd quarter as OG Anunoby and Miles McBride made free throws of their own. Dallas led 94 -71 entering the fourth. In the fourth quarter, New York would cut the lead to 15 but it would not be enough as the Mavericks won 114-97.
This was arguably the Knicks’ worst loss of the season with a lack of effort this game and especially in the first half. Jalen Brunson responded to the Knicks fans booing saying “I’d be booing us too, straight up.” Josh Hart chimed in on the Knicks effort saying “I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today. It was embarrassing.” Mike Brown in the postgame was not too fond of his teams’ performance especially in the first half.
The Mavericks had 27 fastbreak points in the first half. In the second half the Knicks limited Dallas to 39 points meanwhile they gave up 44 in the second quarter alone. The Mavericks had five players score over 14 points or more. Christie led the way with 26 points with 8 threes. Naji Marshall had 19 and Cooper Flagg had 18 points in his first ever game at the garden. Only three Knicks scored over double figures as Towns and Brunson both had 22 points each. The Knicks have now lost 9 of their last 11 games with a loss to the Mavericks 114-97.
Dallas next plays the Golden State Warriors at home Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Knicks next play against the Brooklyn Nets at home this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
