Mavericks-Knicks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Nov 09 2012 12:49AM

Jason Kidd helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA title two seasons ago.

Right now, the New York Knicks just want the 39-year-old guard to contribute to their best start in 19 years.

The Knicks look to maintain their status as the NBA's only unbeaten team Friday night when they host the streaking Mavericks.

Kidd spent the last four-plus seasons running the point for Dallas (4-1), helping the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA championship along with current teammate Tyson Chandler, but New York (3-0) signed him to a three-year, $9 million free-agent contract this summer.

The move is paying dividends for the Knicks in the early going as they seek their longest season-opening winning streak since starting 7-0 in 1993-94. Kidd is contributing 9.0 points per game while making 8 of 14 from the floor.

Kidd's only shot in Monday's 110-88 win at Philadelphia was a made 3-pointer, one day after he had 12 points and six assists to help open the home-and-home set with a 100-84 victory.

While Kidd is giving the Knicks a strong veteran presence, Carmelo Anthony has been the primary force while averaging 26.0 points and 7.3 rebounds. The superstar forward is also aiding New York's stifling defensive play, with opponents averaging 85.3 points on 40.7 percent shooting.

"I'm trying to get Melo to do everything," coach Mike Woodson said. "I don't want him to be perceived as just a scorer. Melo has been defending for us. He's been rebounding for us, and that's what he's got to do. It's not just Melo. We gotta have 13 guys doing the things to help us win basketball games.

"Melo is playing at a high level right now and I expect him to continue playing at a high level."

Anthony struggled mightily in his most recent matchup with Dallas, a 95-85 road loss for the Knicks on March 6. He was 2 of 12 from the field to finish with six points, although he may have an easier time Friday with Mavs forward Shawn Marion expected to miss the second of at least three games with a knee injury.

The Knicks have dropped 18 of their last 21 matchups with Dallas, although they won the last meeting at Madison Square Garden 104-97 on Feb. 19 with Anthony out and Jeremy Lin in a starring role.

The Mavericks enter this visit averaging 116.3 points during a three-game winning streak after beating Toronto 109-104 on Wednesday. Their run has been especially impressive with Dirk Nowitzki still out recovering from right knee surgery.

"They're playing a little bit more up-tempo," Kidd said. "They're playing extremely well. They're 4-1 without Dirk. That shows they're a team that can play without their star. We gotta be ready because they're offensive minded and a team that can put up a lot of points."

O.J. Mayo and Chris Kaman are big reasons for the Mavs' winning streak, with Mayo averaging 28.0 points during the run and Kaman 18.0 on 70.6 percent shooting.

"We've got guys picking it up while guys are injured," said Kaman, who had a season-high 22 points against the Raptors. "We're on a little bit of a roll and we're just going to try to keep it going."

New York's Marcus Camby is expected to make his season debut in his return from a calf injury. The center averaged 4.9 points and 9.0 rebounds with Portland and Houston last season.

Knicks beat Mavericks 104-94 to stay unbeaten

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Nov 10 2012 12:06AM

NEW YORK (AP) The basket was shaking and Tyson Chandler was screaming, definitely toward though maybe not at the voices he recognized near the Dallas bench.

His more important words came long before that dunk that helped the New York Knicks put away the Mavericks.

Chandler told his teammates at halftime not to let their perfect record get ruined, and they responded with a 104-94 victory Friday night to improve their best start in nearly two decades to 4-0.

"Tyson's always vocal. In the locker room he was very vocal, just about not letting this one slip away from us," said Carmelo Anthony, who led the Knicks with 31 points.

"We got up to play in that third quarter, second half, got up defensively, denied the passing lanes and we played our defense that we've been playing for the last week."

Reserve JR Smith added 22 points for the Knicks, the only unbeaten team in the NBA. They hadn't been perfect after four games since the 1993-94 team started 7-0 en route to the NBA Finals.

The Knicks averaged 104.7 points and allowed just 85.3 per game while routing Miami and sweeping a home-and-home series from Philadelphia to start the season, but didn't seize control of this one for good until nearly the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

O.J. Mayo scored 23 points for the Mavericks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Knicks for just the fourth time in the last 22 meetings.

Playing without injured starters Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, the Mavericks had shot 60 percent in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history and were averaging 116.3 points on 56.2 percent shooting during their win streak.

But they managed only two more field goals after Mayo's layup cut the Knicks' lead to 90-86 with 7:32 remaining. New York scored the next eight points, five from Anthony, to pull away.

"New York's a veteran team and if you give them more possessions and you give them possessions on catastrophic turnovers, they're going to convert them into points," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "They're a very good team. In my opinion they're one of the handful of teams that has a chance to come out of the East."

In the first meeting since Jason Kidd left Dallas to sign with New York, he played only 16 minutes as the Knicks went with Smith, who got hot in the third quarter while they opened an 84-78 lead.

Kidd seemed on the verge of returning to the Mavs in July before signing with the Knicks. Dallas owner Mark Cuban was angry, believing Kidd backed out of a deal, and said before the game he was done talking about the point guard.

With Kidd joining Chandler, the Knicks have two starters from the Mavs' 2011 NBA championship team, a club the aging Knicks mentioned often during the preseason as a team that showed older groups could win.

Chandler provided the game's first double-digit lead at 96-86 with a ferocious follow dunk and free throw after being fouled, screaming in the direction of the Dallas bench after the basket.

Chandler said he's disappointed the Mavs didn't re-sign him and others from the title team, never taking a shot at defending their crown. But he thinks the Knicks might be building something similar now.

"Definitely reminds me of the chemistry, personalities, personnel that we had," he said. "We were just really deep on that team. We hit teams with waves and teams couldn't really catch up with it, our first and second unit. It's the same thing here. We have great depth and that has to be our weapon."

New York finished with eight 3-pointers after making an NBA-record 43 in its first three games.

"They're playing hard and they're getting wins," said Mavericks forward Elton Brand, back after missing a game following the birth of a child. "4-0, that's a good start for any team."

Anthony scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Knicks took a 25-23 lead. Mayo opened the second with consecutive 3-pointers, and seven straight points by Vince Carter later in the period gave Dallas a 41-32 lead. The Mavericks were ahead 57-55 at the break.

Notes: Marcus Camby made his season debut after sitting out the first three games while getting back in shape. He missed most of the preseason with a strained calf. The center became the fourth-oldest player in Knicks history at 38 years, 7 months, 18 days - with two of the older ones coming this season. Herb Williams, now a Knicks assistant, was 41, 2 months and 16 days in his final appearance. Kurt Thomas is 40 and Jason Kidd is 39. Rasheed Wallace (38-1-23) rounds out the top five. ... For their heroic actions during Superstorm Sandy, the Knicks honored Jon Candelaria of New York, and Dr. Pradeep Mally, Gail Geraghty and Erica Chong of NYU Langone Medical Center with this month's Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" award, named for the team's first African-American player and recognizing those who have made a difference in the lives of others. Candelaria rescued a driver who was stuck in a stalled taxi that was nearly submerged by water, while the hospital employees carried infants to safety after the facility lost power. Also, an MSG Network and Garden of Dreams foundation fundraiser raised nearly $200,000 for storm aid. ... Both teams wore special blue shooting shirts with red and white and stars surrounding the NBA logo as the league celebrates Veterans Day this weekend.

Notebook: Knicks 104, Mavericks 94

Joshua Newman, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:46 PM - Updated Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:46 PM

THE FACTS: Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the first half to lead four players in double figures as the New York Knicks turned up the defensive intensity in the second half and rode it to a 104-94 win over the streaking Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden.

J.R. Smith added 22 points off the bench for the Knicks, who also received 13 points from Ronnie Brewer and 11 points and nine rebounds from Tyson Chandler.

O.J. Mayo scored a team-high 23 points to pace the Mavericks, who could only manage 37 points after halftime thanks to the Knicks' defense.

QUOTABLE: "I thought the second half, we kind of settled in and our defense began to click a little bit. We held them to 37 points in the second half and we've had four straight games where no one has scored 40 points in the second half, so that's locking in and taking pride in defending the ball."

-- Knicks coach Mike Woodson

THE STAT: After a putrid defensive second quarter that saw the Knicks give up 34 points and allowed the Mavericks to shoot 12-for-22 from the field, New York held the opposition to 37 points after halftime, while also holding them to 39.4 percent (13-for-33) shooting from the field.

TURNING POINT: After the poor second quarter, the Knicks hung tough and only trailed, 67-66, with 7:39 left in the third. Over the next 5:21, they went on an 12-4 run to take their biggest lead of the night up to that point at 78-71 with 2:28 left in the period. The Knicks' run was highlighted by Smith, who scored nine of his 22. Smith's outburst came after Anthony went to the bench with his fourth personal foul.

QUOTABLE II: "No matter who our opponent was tonight, we needed to come out, get a 'W' and keep this thing going. We were a little flat to start the game, but Dallas is playing extremely well, so we knew we would have our hands full."

-- Knicks guard Jason Kidd.

HOT: Smith, who re-signed with the Knicks in the offseason for the seemingly-low price of two years and $5.7 million, continued his hot start on Friday night. The ninth-year reserve shooting guard had four steals to go along with his 22 points. The 22 points marked his third game of at least 17 points on the young season. Through his first eight NBA seasons, Smith has averaged 12.5 points and 1.0 steals per game.

NOT: Steve Novak, who led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage last season at 47.2 percent, entered Friday off to a strong start to the season at 46.7 percent. However, the sharp-shooter struggled against the Mavericks. He missed all three of his attempts from deep in the second quarter and finished the game 1-for-4 from deep and 2-for-6 overall.

ROOKIE WATCH: Mavericks rookie small forward Jae Crowder has had a solid start to his NBA career, but that trend stopped on Friday evening. Crowder, last season's Big East Player of the Year and an Associated Press Second Team All-American selection as a senior at Marquette last season, shot 3-for-8 and finished with seven points to go along with three rebounds and four turnovers. He scored just two points after halftime. He entered the night averaging a respectable 8.6 points and 3.0 rebounds through the Mavericks' first five games.

NOTABLE: With the win, the Knicks are 4-0 for the first time since the 1993-94 season. That team, which lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, began the season 7-0 on its way to a 57-25 record and the Atlantic Division title. The franchise has not claimed the Atlantic Division crown since that 1993-94 campaign.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Tuesday @ Magic, Thursday @ Spurs, Friday @ Grizzlies. For the Mavericks, Saturday @ Bobcats, Monday vs. Timberwolves, Wednesday vs. Wizards.

• Mavericks: Marion, Nowitzki
• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire

• Mavericks: Mayo
• Knicks: Anthony, Felton

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #28 Zach Zarba, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 19033
• Duration: 2:27