Recap: Mavericks 94 at Knicks 104; Turnovers, Knicks end Mavs' win streak at 3
Earl K. Sneed reports from New York and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' matchup against Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler and an unbeaten Knicks team, as the Mavs' win streak came to an end at three.
Recap: Mavericks 94 at Knicks 104; Turnovers, Knicks end Mavs' win streak at 3
NEW YORK — Heading into Friday night’s matchup against the New York Knicks, much had been made about how well the Dallas Mavericks have played while overcoming injuries to some of their key pieces.
But, with the Mavericks set to face former point guard Jason Kidd and the unbeaten Knicks in Madison Square Garden without 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki (knee surgery) and four-time All-Star Shawn Marion (sprained left MCL), the new-look Dallas team figured to face its toughest challenge of the young season.
Still, with the Mavs entering the game on a three-game winning streak following an unbeaten homestand, the squad stepped into “the Mecca of Basketball” with plenty of confidence, hoping to be the first team to provide a blemish on New York’s 2012-13 schedule. And with big man Elton Brand back with the team after missing Wednesday night’s 109-104 home victory over Toronto due to the birth of his daughter, the Mavs went in search of a fourth straight W against Kidd, ex-Maverick Tyson Chandler and a Knicks team that was off to its best start in 19 years.
They would not be successful.
Playing without two of their team leaders, the Mavericks (4-2) would put up a fight for four quarters to start their two-game road trip. But, with All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony leading the way for New York, the Dallas team wouldn’t have enough firepower to match the unbeaten Knicks (4-0) before eventually falling to a 104-94 defeat.
“Me personally, I didn’t get much sleep, but it was good to get back out there with the team, fight and try to claw for the win. But, the Knicks played well in spurts and sticked us back on our heels,” Brand said of the loss.
Choosing to reinsert Brand into the starting five over center Chris Kaman, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle went to the first unit of point guard Darren Collison, 2-guard O.J. Mayo, rookie Jae Crowder, Brand and fellow big man Brandan Wright. But it would be Mayo that assumed the scoring responsibility in the early going in his individual matchup against Kidd, before the Knicks’ up-tempo offense surged to a 25-23 edge after the first 12 minutes of play.
With backup guard Rodrigue Beaubois returning from a three-game hiatus with a sprained left ankle, the Mavs tried to rally in the second stanza. And with Mayo and the rookie Crowder leading an 8-0 run to start the quarter, the Mavericks surged ahead on the scoreboard.
Behind Mayo’s outside shooting from behind the 3-point arc, the Mavs built up a lead. But, with the sharpshooter picking up three fouls and having to sit most of the second, the ball swung eight-time All-Star Vince Carter’s way and he made sure the Mavericks didn’t suffer a setback with Mayo on the bench.
Still, after Carter led the Mavs to a lead as large as nine, the Knicks refused to go away in front of their home crowd, charging back to tie the game at 44-all when Kidd found Anthony for a 3. And with Anthony’s technical foul — after arguing with officiating — giving the Mavs a late boost, before an emphatic lefty and-one dunk by Wright over Rasheed Wallace, the visiting team headed into the intermission with just a 57-55 advantage.
Before being forced to sit with foul trouble, Mayo led the Mavericks with 14 points at the midway mark, while Carter added 12 points off the bench. But with Anthony tallying 19 points for the Knicks, the home team outshot the Mavs through two quarters, 47.6 percent to 45.5 percent, in addition to a 24-20 rebounding margin.
Looking to make up for lost time, Mayo went back on the attack in the third period, draining his fifth 3-pointer of the night as the Mavs tried to pull away. The newcomer would be forced to sit with a fourth foul, however, after being called for a charge while driving into Kidd. And despite the best efforts of Wright and Kaman inside the lane, the Knicks took control of the game behind J.R. Smith's play off the bench, putting the Mavericks in an 84-78 hole heading to the final quarter.
"We were just like playing catch-up. I don't know exactly what went wrong. I know we turned the ball over ... but they put a lot of pressure on you in the halfcourt. We weren't able to get into our transition stuff that we normally do and it seemed like we slowed down in the second half trying to do what we wanted to do," Kaman said of the third-quarter collapse.
An aggressive Mayo returned to the floor and looked for his own shot as the fourth quarter got underway. But, with a thunderous and-one dunk-tip by Chandler, the Knicks took a commanding 96-86 lead with 6:08 left.
The Mavs wouldn’t recover the rest of the way, trimming their deficit to single digits only briefly after trailing by as much as 12 before the final minutes.
Finishing with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting, Mayo led four Mavericks in double figures. But with foul trouble an issue all night long, the 25-year-old guard also struggled protecting the ball while committing eight turnovers.
"It kind of throws you out your rhythm a little bit," Mayo said of the combination of fouls and turnovers. "I got hot a little bit, but it was a very winnable game. Extremely too many turnovers, and in order for us to win ballgames, I can't turn the ball over like that."
Off the bench, Carter added 15 points and Kaman added 14 points. Wright also pitched in 11 points in the loss. But the Knicks did quiet Collison to just 1-of-8 shooting, as the cat-quick point guard finished the night with eight assists but scored only four points while committing four turnovers himself.
"I felt like I let my team down tonight," the unselfish lead guard confessed. "Shooting is fine but not being aggressive is one thing, and I felt like I let my team down in that aspect. But, give a hand out to them. They played hard, they played well and we'll be looking forward to playing them again."
Meanwhile, Anthony carved up the Dallas defense without Marion on the court, scoring 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Kidd added six points and three assists against his former team and Chandler registered 11 points and nine rebounds, as the Knicks finished outshooting the Mavs, 41.7 percent to 40.7 percent.
New York also ended the game with 20 points off the Mavs’ 20 turnovers, committing just nine giveaways themselves to overcome a 50-43 rebounding margin for Dallas.
“You know, we’ve been staying away from high-turnover games since exhibition, but tonight it got us,” Carlisle admitted after the loss. “New York’s a veteran team, and if you give them more possessions than you and you give them possessions off catastrophic turnovers, they’re gonna convert them into points.”
“That’s what hurt us. You know, they forced us into turnovers. Some of them were unforced, but you have to give the Knicks the credit. You know, they played hard, had us turning over the ball and made runs when we were right in that game,” Brand concluded.
The Mavs will now conclude their two-game road trip by touching down in Charlotte to face the Bobcats on Saturday night. The game will air locally at 6:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on NBA TV. The Mavs defeated the Bobcats, 126-99, at home on Nov. 3.
"[The Knicks] are a good team but we're a good team as well. We didn't show that tonight -- what we're capable of," Kaman said of the loss. "The good thing about basketball is there's another game tomorrow night. And we've gotta go out and try to redeem ourselves and get a win tomorrow."
