Recap: Knicks 85 at Mavericks 95
Recap: Knicks 85 at Mavericks 95
Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' thrilling home win over the New York Knicks Tuesday night as Dirk Nowitzki's second-half scoring outburst ruined Tyson Chandler's return to Big D.
DALLAS — It was perhaps fitting that the defending champion Dallas Mavericks’ fifth and final ring ceremony game would come against Tyson Chandler and the New York Knicks.
With Chandler, the undisputed defensive leader for last season’s championship squad, making his return to Dallas for the first time since inking a multi-year contract with the Knicks, the Mavericks looked to avenge a 104-97 defeat in New York on Feb. 19. But before seeking retribution against the team from the Big Apple, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and the organization took time to pay tribute to Chandler’s contribution last season.
“He was great in so many different ways — charismatically, on the floor, the anchor of our defense,” Carlisle said of Chandler’s impact last season, “and he’s done great things with the Knicks. I mean, they’ve become one of the better defensive teams this year and in a short period of time. He’s the kind of guy where it’s always great to see him, but he’s a tough competitor and it’s tough to play against him.”
The Mavericks (23-17) would spoil Chandler’s return to Dallas, however, while getting back in the win column. And after a hard-fought 95-85 victory, the Mavs not only avenged last month’s loss but also corrected the poor late-game execution that cost them one night earlier against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“It was a big win and we definitely needed it. We’ve been struggling with playing the good teams and this was almost a playoff atmosphere,” leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki said after the victory. “The crowd was into it and this was a fun game to be a part of.”
“We played well last night and came up short,” point guard Jason Kidd added. “We didn’t execute down the stretch like we have in the past. … This was a much-needed win and it’s a big character win for us.”
Carlisle and the Mavericks returned to their home floor looking to bounce back from a 95-91 road loss Monday night, playing shorthanded once again without new addition Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) as well as big men Brendan Haywood (sprained left ankle) and Brandan Wright (concussion). But with big man Ian Mahinmi’s end-to-end play and superb outside shooting from Kidd, the Mavericks grabbed an early advantage. Kidd’s two 3-pointers and a Dallas defense that held the Knicks to 6-of-19 from the field and forced five turnovers then lifted the Mavs to a 27-15 lead after one.
With Kidd on the bench, third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois assumed the scoring duties with lights-out shooting as well from long range. But after the young guard exploited the Knicks’ defense at will and upped the Mavs’ advantage to 17, the visiting team rallied with a run of its own led by Amar’e Stoudemire. And after cutting the Mavs’ lead to as little as six, the Knicks (18-20) faced just a 50-44 deficit at the break.
Matching Stoudemire’s 12 points at the break, Beaubois and his 4-of-7 shooting off the bench helped Dallas outshoot the Knicks through two quarters, 41 percent to 38.3 percent. The Mavs also converted 10 Knicks turnovers into 14 points at the other end, giving up nine points on their own five giveaways.
After scoring just four points in the first half, Nowitzki got back on track with three straight scores to start the third period.
“I just really had a slow first half,” Nowitzki admitted. “I just wanted to make a special effort after halftime … and just really feel good coming out of halftime. Coach ran the first play right away for me, was able to face up and knock a shot down. From that point I had a good rhythm.”
Meanwhile, frustration began to build on the New York sideline after a hard foul by Kidd on Jeremy Lin, leading to a technical foul call on Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. And after using a 16-3 run and a technical foul on J.R. Smith to their advantage, the Mavs entered the final quarter with a 77-63 lead thanks to 13 points in the period from Nowitzki.
Getting 33 combined points from Nowitzki and Beaubois through three quarters, the Mavericks again looked to the duo to start the fourth. But with former Mav Steve Novak hitting his fourth 3-pointer of the night, Carlisle was forced to call timeout with his team up just 77-69 with 9:29 remaining. Emotions then got the better of Nowitzki, earning a technical foul in the midst of 11 straight New York points to start the period as the Knicks trimmed the Mavs’ lead to just 77-74 with 6:31 left on the clock. A runner by Baron Davis and score by Stoudemire then made it 15 unanswered points for the Knicks as the visitors briefly took the lead before a timely Nowitzki jumper with 4:34 left to hold on.
“It was tough. I thought we had the game under control there, and all season long we’ve felt like we don’t do a good enough job protecting the lead,” Nowitzki explained. “We lost the lead way too quick — had some bad shots, had some turnovers — and next thing you know they’re right back in the game.”
“Our games with the Knicks — both games — have had massive runs in both games,” Carlisle added. “They had a 17-0 run in game one in the first quarter and then we had a 12-5 and 12-3 (run), and they had a big one in the fourth. Tonight was the same way. Chalk it up to whatever.”
After Nowitzki scored the Mavs’ first six points of the period Kidd lent a helping hand, draining a three before a vintage fadeaway by Nowitzki made it an 88-78 game with 2:27 remaining. And with a 14-0 run under their belt, the Mavs then put the finishing touches on the win following a technical on Chandler with free throws by Kidd and timely scores by Nowitzki.
“We were in the same spot last night and again, we responded with some big stops and Dirk made some big shots for us,” Kidd concluded.
Scoring 24 of his game-high 28 in the second half, Nowitzki finished the night 8-of-18 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free throw line.
“Guys kept finding me and sometimes I just ran to the ball and tried to make something happen,” Nowitzki modestly said. “The rhythm I had there in the second half, I definitely was looking for the ball.”
Beaubois added 18 points off the bench while Kidd made it three Mavericks in double figures with 15 points.
Stoudemire’s 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting led the Knicks while Lin pitched in 14 points on just 4-of-13 from the field. In his return, Chandler finished with six points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Shawn Marion’s suffocating defense on All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony held the Knicks’ go-to scorer to just six points on 2-of-12 shooting.
“I tried to make it uncomfortable for him. He’s a very talented player, but you’ve got to give him different looks and make him a little uncomfortable,” Marion said after holding Anthony in check. “And my teammates were helping me also, it wasn’t just me.”
Meanwhile, the Mavs’ 38.8 percent shooting as a team just bettered the Knicks’ 38.1 percent. The Mavs also overcame a 44-26 disadvantage in the paint, turning 16 Knicks giveaways into 22 points at the other end and surrendering 17 points off their own 14 turnovers.
The Mavericks will now take Wednesday off before traveling to Phoenix to start their lone back-to-back-to-back of the season. The Mavs will go for the four-game series sweep of the Suns after three victories over the Phoenix squad earlier in the season. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.
“This is a tough stretch. We obviously lost some games that we should have won. That just shows this season is crazy. Every night there is some crazy results because there are so many games. Some nights you just don’t have it. It’s going to be an uphill battle for us. This is going to be a tough stretch, three games in a row. We’ll take it one game at time,” Nowitzki said while looking ahead.
The team returns to the American Airlines Center next Tuesday night against Washington. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).
Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).
