New York Knicks lose to the Dallas Mavericks 114-97: Out of excuses

The New York Knicks lost again, in a lifeless performance against the Dallas Mavericks, 114-97. The Knicks got Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart back, but they showed no improvement over their recent struggles.

This game felt over from the opening tip. The Knicks didn’t make a single three-pointer in the first quarter, and their defense was porous as ever. Max Christie and Naji Marshall exploded without doing anything out of the ordinary. Christie shot when he was open, and Marshall attacked the paint. That was enough to bury the Knicks beneath a 28-point deficit.

The lone positive from this game is that New York showed some pride on defense in the second half. They outscored Dallas by 11 in the second half, but that’s far too little too late. They never got closer than being down by the teens.

This team is out of excuses. They got booed at the Garden, and their effort warranted the reaction. Let’s get into it.

I won’t go so far as to call these empty stats. Karl-Anthony Towns visibly turned up his effort in the second half, leading to strong rebounding and a few nice dunks. The problem is that his game remained messy.

Towns’ night is most notable for hitting Dwight Powell with more low blows than a heel in a title match. When he got two jumpers to fall, he immediately shot from Steph Curry range. It felt like most of KAT’s positives came with equally painful downsides.

The bottom line is that Towns is paid to be a star and a leader. He hasn’t played like that during the Knicks’ slide.

This performance doesn’t even fit a narrative of Mikal Bridges just coasting out there. On a typical night, taking what the defense gives him, Bridges is better than this.

No, Mikal turned in as listless an effort as we’ve seen. Cooper Flagg outran him on a fastbreak, an example of a trend in which Bridges keeps getting beaten on effort plays lately. There’s a valid case to make that Deuce McBride should take Bridges’ role with the starters. McBride has been better at every facet of the game in recent weeks.

The Captain tried to pick up his team, but it looked like he rushed back. Jalen Brunson didn’t have his typical elusive footwork and even got worked by pivot moves from opponents. He simply wasn’t moving well enough to give the Knicks his best effort.

Brunson’s best moment happened on the sideline. He visibly called the players over to try to galvanize them. They came out of halftime with better effort, though it was still too little, too late.

Speaking of returning from injury too soon, Josh Hart didn’t move well laterally. He couldn’t defend Naji Marshall without fouling, and wasn’t the transition threat we’re used to seeing.

Hart seemed to be playing at half speed, but I suspect his ankle played a role in his limited impact.

As pedestrian as OG Anunoby’s stats look, I’m giving him a pass tonight. Anunoby’s on-ball opportunities dropped off a cliff with Brunson and Hart returning, not to mention a drop in minutes played. That left him with fewer chances to get into an attacking rhythm.

More importantly, I could see OG making a positive impact on defense. That’s more than I can say for any other starter tonight. He stepped up to manifest stops that gave the Knicks signs of life periodically.

Mitchell Robinson was New York’s best player, which is only unfortunate because he rarely plays more than 20 minutes. Mitch entered the game and changed the trajectory of the defense each time, and he feasted on lobs and putbacks for a quick double-double.

If we’re looking for someone who left everything on the floor during his minutes, Robinson is the only player I can point to without any doubts.

The Knicks are out of excuses. I mentioned their recent health issues in the last recap, but they had everyone back tonight. Whatever’s festering in the locker room and on the court needs to be addressed, or the team is cursed with mediocrity.

But we shouldn’t take for granted that they won the NBA Cup a month ago. This team has proven they can hoop at an elite level. Even if a trade isn’t possible, changes from within should be enough to find the identity they lost in December.

I’ll see you next time, Knicks’ fam!