The Dallas Mavericks (35-38) ran out of gas in the second half on another night with a short bench, dropping a 128-113 decision to theNew York Knicks (45-26) at Madison Square Garden. Two Knicks completed triple-doubles in their disassembly of the Mavericks: Josh Hart finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns piled up 26 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 11 assists. Tuesday’s game was the first time in Knicks history that a pair of teammates recorded triple-doubles in the same game and just the seventh time it’s happened in NBA history.
After battling valiantly throughout the first half, the Mavs couldn’t find the basket in the third and fourth quarters, when they shot just 15-of-37 from the field. And those were freebies, so here are five more key stats from the latest Mavericks’ loss. This one was a real slog to sit through.
6: Career 3-pointers for Kai Jones
Kai Jones’ sixth career 3-pointer opened the scoring for Dallas on a possession early in the first. He stepped into one near the top of the key, and awkward delivery be damned, made it in the face of a sagging Towns, who looked glad to give Jones space to work 25 feet from the basket.
The make, which came in Jones’ 100th career NBA game, was just his sixth three-pointer. He looked more than comfortable stepping into it, though, and with just four games left in his run with the Mavericks this year after signing a prorated two-way contract on March 3, why not let it all hang out? Facing yet another thin-roster game with both Anthony Davis (precautionary, adductor) and PJ Washington (ankle) sitting against the Knicks, the offense would have to come from somewhere. Anywhere. Bueller?
Jones fell for Towns’ pump fake outside midway through the first, slipped and fell on the play and watched Towns drive past him for an easy dunk to put New York up 22-18. Then he was left alone along the baseline the next time down as Towns was slow to get back, and Jones answered with a jam of his own.
6: Consecutive made shots by Naji Marshall to start game
Naji Marshall answered the open call for offensive contributions and continued to attack the paint to start the game against the Knicks. He was rewarded with six straight made buckets for his aggression. Marshall’s driving floater with 3:16 left in the opener inched the Mavs ahead, 28-26, before he missed his first 3-point attempt two possessions later.
Dallas was shooting better than 70% from the field at that point and ended the first quarter with just six misses as a team. They shot 15-of-21 (71.4-percent) in the opener and 9-of-10 in the paint. The Knicks also started hot from the field and shot 17-of-26 (65.4-percent) in the first. New York carried a 37-35 lead after one.
13: First-half field goals for Naji Marshall
Marshall stayed hot in the second quarter and poured in 28 points in the first half on 13-of-15 shooting as the Mavericks battled to a 68-68 tie at the break. Marshall’s 13 made field goals matched Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for the most ever in a first half at Madison Square Garden, per the Knicks broadcast team. Just how potent this offense could be if ... never mind (sigh).
Towns answered with 24 in the first half for the Knicks. Marshall finished with a new career-high 38 points and seven boards in the loss.
57-of-92 (61.9-percent): Combined shooting in the first half
The two teams combined for a sizzling 57-of-92 (61.9-percent) shooting mark in the first half. The Mavs broadcast team said that was the hottest shooting first half in any NBA game this season.
And wouldn’t you know it? Dallas’ diamond-crusted carriage turned back into a pumpkin to start the third quarter. Dallas missed its first six shots of the second half as the Knicks scored the first nine points of the third.
The Mavericks’ scoreless stretch persisted for the first 3:19 of the third before Spencer Dinwiddie connected on a pull-up three-ball from the left wing to close the gap to 77-73. Dallas scored just five points in the first 5:40 after halftime as the New York defense clamped down and the game started to get away from the Mavericks.
4-of-18: Third-quarter shooting for Dallas
The bottom fell out for the Mavs in the third quarter. The Knicks flipped the switch defensively and made it a point to shut Marshall down.
Marshall shot just 1-for-5 in the third and Dallas had virtually no other reliable scoring options at their disposal. He still scored four of the Mavericks’ meager 16 points in the frame.
The Knicks countered with a healthy dose of Josh Hart and OG Anunoby in the third. Hart completed his triple-double midway through the third and ended the night with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Anunoby scored 11 of his team-high 35 in the third and was the beneficiary of many of the Knicks transition runouts, as the Mavericks committed eight turnovers in the quarter to render the fourth quarter moot.