DALLAS - When you’re the hottest team in the NBA, teams come to town gunning for you. Especially if it's a team the Mavericks beat by 50-points the last time they played. That was the case at the American Airlines Center tonight. The New York Knicks had lost 43-games this season, but that one loss to the Mavericks had not been forgotten.
So, it was payback time. Dallas trailed early and a Jason Kidd’s three pointer gave the Mavericks their last lead at 20-to-19.
Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points, Wilson Chandler added 22 and the New York Knicks snapped Dallas' 13-game winning streak and avenged a 50-point loss to the Mavericks earlier
this season with a 128-94 victory.
The Mavericks had their most lopsided win in franchise history in the first meeting between the teams, a 128-78 rout of the Knicks on Jan. 24 at Madison Square Garden. This time, it was the Knicks' turn for a runaway.
Dallas didn’t lose by 50, but it was close. They lost by 34. Rookie Toney Douglas had 21 points, Al Harrington added 20 points, and David Lee contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds for the
Knicks who had lost 14 of their previous 17 and nine straight in Dallas.
Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and and Jason Kidd added 15 points for Dallas, which hadn't lost since Feb. 16.
The Knicks shot 56 percent from the field (50 for 89) and 16 of 30 from 3-point range.
Slow starts had become a habit for the Mavericks during their streak, and the Knicks carried a
30-25 edge into the second quarter.
Harrington had 15 points in the first half and Douglas 13 to help the Knicks take 58-48 lead at the break. Douglas was making his third start of the season and first since Nov. 18.
The Knicks opened the third quarter with a 20-9 spurt, capped by Tracy McGrady's three-point play, to expand their advantage to 78-57.
McGrady had 11 third-quarter points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and the Knicks took a 91-66 lead into the final quarter.
New York went on to lead by as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter behind 16 points from Walker.
NOTES: Kidd's first-quarter 3-pointer was his 140th of the season, a new career high. ... Mavericks G Jose Juan Barea had 14 points after missing the previous game with a left ankle injury. ... Dallas' No. 2 scorer Jason Terry sat out his fifth consecutive game (surgery to repair facial injuries). Terry has resumed practice while wearing a protective mask, but there's no timetable for his return. ... The Knicks had lost 15 of the previous 16 meetings with the Mavericks. ... Dallas' longest winning streak in franchise history is 17 games during the 2006-07 season. ... The Mavericks wore "Los Mavs" uniforms as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. ... New York G Chris Duhon made his first appearance in 12 games.
