A small but rowdy group of Knicks fans arrived at the Garden armed with booing and mocking chants to head to Kristaps Porzingis, but what they especially wanted on Friday night was a win over their former All-Star and his current team.
Even with Porzingis usually trapped in a rocky shooting night, the Knicks followed Wednesday’s crushing loss in Minnesota by washing away a double-digit lead for the second consecutive game in a 99-86 loss against the Mavericks.
“The response was of course what I expected,” said Porzingis, underscoring Dallas’ win with a late baseline dunk. “They are a strong team and they played very well against me and us in general. Overall just a tough game, a tough game, and it’s good to win against a strong team like the Knicks. “
Porzingis heard guttural noise and “KP sucks” chants during the game. The 7-foot-3 attacker finished with 14 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the floor.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, the Knicks’ two leading scorers, also endured offensive rough matches, combining just 22 points in 8-for-31 shots when the Knicks lost for the third straight game to drop below .500 on 24- 25.
Alec Burks had a team-high 20 points for the Knicks, who shot just 36 percent of the field, including a 1-for-10 show from Derrick Rose.
Barrett and Rose had been questionable for the ankle-injury game after Randle missed Saturday’s game with a thigh bruise.
“I think we play together the right way early on, and as the game goes on, the shots don’t fall or whatever the case is, and maybe we’re just trying to do it a little too much,” said Randle. “Just have to rely on ourselves. It is heavy. It’s a tough balance for all of us, but we’ll get it right. “
Luka Doncic registered 26 points in the game and another former Knick, Tim Hardaway Jr., added 14 for the Mavericks (26-21). They were coached by assistant Jamahl Mosley after head coach Rick Carlisle revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 before the match.
Randle was signed with some of the cap space the Knicks had freed up through the blockbuster trade from Porzingis, Hardaway and others to the Mavericks in February 2019, while Porzingis was still recovering from ACL surgery. The Knicks will also control Dallas’ first round in the 2021 and 2023 drafts, with this year expected to be the 21st overall roster competing in Friday’s action.
The fans kept the KP-focused spot going for the first quarter, and he missed eight of his first nine shots from the field in the first half, including six straight from a three-point range.
In the second quarter, Burks took two threes and Obi Toppin sparked nine points off the bench – including a high-flying, one-handed strike on an offensive rebound – while the Knicks extended their lead to 44-31 with 7: 02 remaining before half time .
But coach Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks came almost six minutes without scoring and Dallas took a 49-46 lead at the break on 3-pointers in the last minute of the half by Hardaway and Doncic to get an 18-2 closeout run capture.
Porzingis eventually made contact from outside the arc for a 55-54 Dallas lead, and his pull-up jumper extended the kiss to six a few minutes later en route to a 72-69 Knicks hole going into the final period.
The Knicks then missed 11 of their first 12 shots in the fourth quarter, before consecutive 3-pointers from Jalen Brunson and Doncic helped put Dallas ahead 15 with barely three minutes to go.
“We have to make sure we get quality photos,” said Thibodeau. “Until that moment it was a hard-fought match. … We have to make sure that we do everything collectively. That has been the strength of the club throughout the year and I think we will come back to that. “