The Mavericks were in a grumpy mood coming off of one of their worst games of the season, a 17-point loss to the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
So they got back to work on Thursday night with one of their best overall showings as they beat the red-hot New York Knicks 128-124 behind sensational efforts from Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr., plus a clutch three-pointer from Josh Green with 25.9 seconds left.
And they did it all without Luka Dončić.
The Mavericks led 113-93 nearing the midpoint of the fourth quarter, but the Knicks weren’t done. They chopped the lead to 121-120 with under a minute to play. The Mavericks then did something that hasn’t happened very often for them this year.
They got three offensive rebounds on one possession, finally getting Green, who had missed a three-pointer to start that possession, wide-open on the wing for a three-pointer and a 124-120 lead.
“The basketball gods, they had our back,” Irving said. “We were playing extremely well throughout the majority of the game. Then those final four or five minutes, they start hitting some corner threes . . . and they’re pushing the pace and our lead goes from 12 to 2 or whatever.
“These are the games when you’re being tested. So I think we grew tonight as a team.”
The Knicks couldn’t find the basket after Green’s big shot and the Mavericks persevered for an impressive victory over a team playing well of late.
“To come up with the three offensive rebounds at that point was huge,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And for Josh to get another shot at it from the slot, he didn’t hesitate. I thought he did a great job at both ends. I thought he started us off with the physicality of guarding Brunson. It’s not easy. And again, there was no hesitation when the ball found him.”
Green was charged with picking up Brunson full court for much of the game. And while the former Maverick finished with 30 points, they were hard-earned and he also had four turnovers.
The Mavericks moved to 4-1 on this seven-game home stand with two meetings against New Orleans coming up.
They are 23-16 for the season. The Knicks had their five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 22-16.
Irving had a season-best 44 points and 10 assists and Hardaway added 32 points as the Mavericks quickly erased the sour aftertaste of the Memphis game.
“In competition, you’re going to get embarrassed sometimes,” Irving said. “That’s part of the NBA level of competition. Some games, you’re not going to play up to the level you want. The big question after that is how you respond. I think we responded tonight. We used Tuesday as motivation, for sure.”
As Kidd said: “(It was) a big bounce-back game after the last game here at home.”
Dončić was out with a right ankle sprain and he had lots of company on the sideline with center Dereck Lively II, guard Dante Exum and forward Maxi Kleber all out.
Lively, Exum and, of course, Dončić all are starters.
That pushed Hardaway, Dwight Powell and Josh Green into the lineup. And by extension, cut deeply into the Mavericks’ depth off the bench.
It didn’t matter on this night as the Mavericks led comfortably much of the way. But the Knicks made their run in the third quarter, drawing within six points on two occasions.
But Irving took over as the Mavericks rebuilt their cushion to 98-84. He had 10 consecutive points for the Mavericks, capped by a pair of three pointers.
And, again, it was a morale booster after the dud the Mavericks had against Memphis.
“Last game wasn’t who we are as a team,” Green said. “We all came in way too soft. We need to be the team that hits first. If we’re hitting first, it’s very hard to play against a team with Luka and Kyrie. So it’s up to us to make sure we make that hit. We can be a physical team.”
And they were, indeed, more forceful against the Knicks.
The whole game was against the odds, given the circumstances surrounding both teams.
The Knicks made their big trade for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa on Dec. 30. They proceeded to rattle off five consecutive victories since then, including impressive wins against Minnesota and at Philadelphia, who have two of the top six records in the NBA.
Their challenge against the Mavericks was made easier by the absence of Dončić.
Easier. But obviously not easy, even though the Mavericks owned a 1-3 record in games without Dončić this season before Thursday.
X: @ESefko
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