Despite being at full strength again, the Knicks lost to the Dallas Mavericks from start to finish on Monday night with a score of 114-97.
Here are the things you can take…
– Things started innocently enough as the Mavericks jumped out to an 8-2 lead thanks to some early deep shots. That lead grew to 16-4 as Max Christie continued to knock down threes and New York couldn’t stop anyone. Rather than trying to slow the game down in the first down, the Knicks tried to match Dallas’ pace but continued to come up empty on quick possessions. The most glaring issue was New York’s three-point shooting, 0-for-9 from deep in the first quarter.
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— Jalen Brunson he was the only starter who managed to attack in the first quarter, putting up nine points with little help elsewhere. Since no one else is involved in the offense, Mitchell Robinson added eight points off the bench and was a force on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds (four offensive) in just six minutes off the bench.
— Meanwhile, the Mavs had no problem getting to their spots and hitting shots. They shot 6-for-10 from three-point range in the first quarter, and Christie once Clay Thompson combining to go 5-for-5 from behind the arc. After one, Dallas led 31-22.
— The second quarter was worse for the Knicks. After missing their first 10 three-point attempts to start the game, Mikal Bridges he finally saw one go over the net early in the second, but that was quickly overlooked after that Cooper Flagg he drilled another deep into the next possession.
— After a quiet first quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns faced a brutal dunk that stopped the MSG crowd before Robinson hit a layup that cut New York’s deficit to seven points. That was as close as the Knicks would get all game, however, as the Mavericks went on a 13-0 run that led to 20 points.
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— Towns ended the 3-pointer drought and followed with another dunk, but after that, he was called for 1 foul that drained all of MSG’s energy. From there, Dallas got everything they wanted on offense and put up 44 points in the quarter to take a 75-47 halftime lead.
– New York held the Mavs to 39 points in the second half, but the damage was already done. Overall, it was a night to forget for the Knicks, who shot 40 percent (38-for-95) from the field and 29 percent (9-for-31) from three.
– Brunson and Towns each had 22 points while Bridges, OG Anunoby again Josh Hart (on his return to the starting lineup from an ankle injury that he admitted before the game was not 100 percent healthy) combined for 24 points. Towns added a team-high 18 rebounds, but also had a team-high five turnovers.
– Robinson also had a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds. He was the only Knick to score in double digits.
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For Dallas, it was the opposite as the team shot 48 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. Christie led the way with a game-high 26 points on an impressive 9-for-13 shooting performance (8-for-10 from downtown).
Game MVP: Max Christie
Christie had the green light all game and he flashed it by knocking down eight of his 10 three-point attempts.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks closed out their three-game homestand by meeting their arch-rivals the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in a battle for the spots. Tip is set for 7:30 pm
