The Mavericks lost a thriller to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, 113-111. D’Angelo Russell and Naji Marshall lead the way for the Mavericks with 23 points each, going toe-to-toe with the All-NBA duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Russell and Naji had efficient nights, going 9-for-15 and 7-for-11, respectively. Max Christie also contributed 15 points while Klay Thompson and Jaden Hardy both had double-digit nights off the bench. Dallas opened the night playing fast and efficiently,
pushing the pace off defensive rebounds and getting early offense from Brandon Williams, P.J. Washington, and Klay Thompson. After falling behind 5–0, the Mavericks answered with an 11–1 run built on threes from Thompson and strong drives from Williams and Max Christie, taking an early 11–6 lead. Naji Marshall began heating up midway through the quarter, hitting multiple threes and attacking the rim to keep the game tight. Dallas continued scoring at a high clip, shooting over 60% in the frame, and Marshall’s 11 first-quarter points helped the Mavericks stay on top despite New York’s late push. The Knicks closed the quarter on a small run, capped by a deep Marshall three at the buzzer, giving Dallas a narrow 25–24 advantage. Dallas’ offense remained locked in, with Marshall relentlessly attacking the rim and scoring through contact while earning repeated trips to the free-throw line. His burst kept the Mavericks afloat early in the quarter as New York tightened its defense and began generating turnovers. Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Brunson countered for the Knicks, but Dallas continued to answer. Marshall scored 19 first-half points and Christie hit key perimeter shots to maintain the Mavs’ pace. The Mavericks briefly lost the lead when New York surged ahead late, but strong finishes from Yabusele and Brunson kept the gap close. A final Brunson floater and free throw in the closing seconds brought Dallas within two at halftime, trailing just 52–50 despite New York’s increased pressure. Dallas started the third quarter well, with Williams scoring early and Thompson hitting a mid-range jumper, but the momentum quickly shifted. New York opened with a defensive surge—forcing turnovers, blocking multiple Dallas drives, and beginning a game-changing 7–0 run. The Mavericks went ice-cold, shooting just 4-for-18 in the quarter, and their offense stagnated as New York relentlessly crashed the glass and pushed in transition. A few bright spots came from Williams hitting a deep three and Dereck Lively converting free throws, but Dallas struggled to match the Knicks’ pace, physicality, and ball movement. By the end of the quarter, the Knicks had outscored Dallas 30–16, flipping the game as the Mavericks entered the fourth trailing 87–85 after surrendering all momentum. Dallas opened the fourth with a big swing, as D’Angelo Russell drilled a deep three to give the Mavericks a brief 90–89 lead and momentarily seize momentum. But New York responded immediately with a decisive counterpunch—McBride, Towns, and Hart fueled a 13–5 run built on forced turnovers, transition buckets, and second-chance points. While Christie hit multiple threes and Williams created shots off the dribble to keep Dallas within striking distance, the Mavericks couldn’t string together stops as Towns dominated inside and Hart orchestrated from the perimeter. Turnovers, blocked shots, and offensive rebounds allowed New York to continue extending the lead. Despite multiple missed Knicks free throws giving the Mavericks a chance, a potential game-tying Williams layup was wiped away by an offensive foul, sealing Dallas’ 113–111 loss and dropping them to 4–12.
36.4%: The Mavericks’ 3-point shooting percentage
The Mavericks finally had their first half-decent shooting night of the year, only getting weighed down by some crazy misses at the end of the game, trying to tie it late. The Mavericks shot near 40% from behind the three-point shooting line for most of the game, and scored more than half their points from that area. With above-average shooting, the Mavericks were able to give a good and healthy New York Knicks team trouble on the road. It shows how important spacing on the floor is, and how much making threes helps keep pace with good offenses. If this version of the Mavs expects to compete any time soon, they will need more nights of 35%+ from three out of their team. Knocking down shots makes a huge difference and allows you to be in games down the stretch.
17: Mavericks Team Turnovers
The Mavs turned the ball over 17 times tonight, including 10 in the first half, when the Mavericks were kind of playing their best. Five more of those turnovers happened in the fourth quarter tonight. The biggest concern was that most of them came from the three or four players the Mavericks want handling the ball and running their offense. D’Angelo Russell, Max Christie, and Brandon Williams had three turnovers apiece, and Naji Marshall had four. The Mavericks need every shot attempt they can get, given how poor their offense is, and wasting possessions by turning the ball over only lessens the opportunity to make up for all the misses and the lack of good shots.
16: Knicks Offensive Rebounds
The Mavericks had their full center rotation healthy tonight, with Derrick Lively, Daniel Gafford, Moussa Cisse, and Dwight Powell all active. The Mavericks were without Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis, but still had a lot of size active tonight. Yet still, the Mavericks let up 16 offensive rebounds to the Knicks, including four of them to Karl-Anthony Towns alone. Five of the Knicks’ offensive boards came in the fourth quarter, including three of them being in the last minute of what was a one-possession coin flip game. It is simply unacceptable for the Mavericks to give up extra possessions in close games, given the size and paint presence on their roster. Additionally, the key to the Mavericks’ successful offense is running in transition and getting open shots, which do not happen when the team gives up offensive rebounds.
