2 weeks Ago By Stefan Bondy
DALLAS — Seven days and four games into their road trip, the Knicks are carrying symptoms of multiple personality disorder. That was never more clear than Wednesday’s 129-114 pre-Thanksgiving feeding at the table of the Mavericks, a Knicks defeat that saw their vaunted offense wilt in American Airlines Center despite the absence of injured Luka Doncic. Two nights after the Knicks (10-8) set this season’s NBA high with 145 points in a victory over Denver, they shot (shield your eyes, children) 26 percent in a decisive opening half.
The struggles were written all over the box score but best explained through OG Anunoby, who followed up his career-high 40-point performance Monday with his worst game as a Knick, by far. Anunoby, the team’s MVP over the opening month, shot 3-for-15 with eight points. He and Josh Hart, the two starting forwards, combined for two points in the first half on 0-for-13 from the field.
The Mavericks deployed a switching defense, which has been a bugaboo for Tom Thibodeau this season, and the Knicks had no answer. The only reason their scoring total and overall shooting percentage (46.5 percent) looked respectable is because they piled on the points in garbage time.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson were the only weapons, combining for 62 points. Brunson had 37. Mikal Bridges had a silent 20 points on 19 shots.
The ball movement ceased. The Knicks managed just 20 assists, even with the garbage-time additions, two nights after tying the franchise record with 45. They went from burying the Suns a week prior to a dud against the Jazz to a gem against the Nuggets to a disaster against the Mavericks.
The first quarter set the tone. The high-octane offense, which entered Wednesday ranked second in the NBA in efficiency, managed just 15 points in that opening period on an array of terrible shots. The Knicks missed 17 of their 21 attempts, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
They had two assists in the first quarter and trailed by 13. Thibodeau’s squad never recovered. It was down 22 at halftime, and 19 after the third quarter.
About 90 minutes before tip-off, Mavs coach Jason Kidd declared Brunson and Towns as “the No. 1 pick-and-roll combination in the NBA.” Then Dallas (11-8) locked down the rest of the roster.
The Knicks bench was nonexistent, with 12 total points between Cam Payne, Jericho Sims and Miles McBride. The Mavericks, meanwhile, got 23 points from Kyrie Irving and shot 56.5 percent.
Quentin Grimes, the former Knick, was a two-way force while helping guard Brunson. Doncic missed his fifth game over six with a wrist strain, but the Mavs have done well without him while going 4-1. Much of that is about Irving, who has owned the Knicks.
He’s won 19 of his past 21 matchups against the franchise, including 10 consecutive. Irving hasn’t lost to the Knicks since he was with the Celtics in 2018..
