Mavs Fall To Knicks

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the New York Knicks Friday night 106-102 at the American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks trailed 84-72 late in the third quarter – their largest deficit of the game – before going on an 18-3 run to pull ahead 90-87. The run started off with eight straight points from Luka Dončić.  There were 9 lead changes in tonight’s game, with the final lead change triggering a 9-0 run by New York to give the Knicks a 101-92 lead. The Mavericks were able to cut it to 105-102 late with the help of missed Knicks free throws, but could not come away with the win.

Mavericks sophomore guard/forward Luka Dončić posted 38 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists – all of which were good for game-high’s. Dončić’s 38 points were a career-high, breaking his mark of 35 against Toronto in January 2019. Dončić broke the Mavericks record for 20-point triple-doubles (10 in career), passing Jason Kidd for the franchise lead. He also broke the record for most 30-point triple-doubles before the age of 21, a record previously held by LeBron James.
Mavericks forward/center Kristaps Porzingis faced his former team for the first time in his career, and came away with 28 points (11-22 shooting, 4-8 from 3-point range) and 9 rebounds to go with 5 blocks. Porzingis’s 5 blocks were a game-high.
Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr., also a former Knick, came away with 14 points and 2 rebounds. He hit 3 three-pointers in the contest.
Jalen Brunson led the Mavericks in +/- as the guard finished the game at +15 in 16 minutes of playing time. Brunson finished with 4 assists on the night.
The Knicks saw five players score in double-figures, lead by Marcus Morris with 29 points. The Knicks were also able to spread the ball around well, shooting 14-28 from three-point range on 19 assists. 3 players had 4 or more assists.
New York guard Frank Ntilikina had a nice night for the Knicks across the board, finishing with 14 points (4-5 from three-point range), 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, and 3 blocks.

The attendance for the game was 20,257. The Mavericks have now sold out 724 consecutive regular-season home games, which is an NBA-best sellout streak. The streak began on 12/15/01 and Dallas has sold out an additional 67 playoff games during that same stretch.