Knicks-Mavericks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Mar 06 2012 12:31AM

One of the signature performances during Jeremy Lin's rise came when he led the New York Knicks to a nationally-televised victory over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

Lin is now enduring some woes heading into a rematch with the Mavericks on Tuesday - a night on which Tyson Chandler will receive a championship ring in his return to Dallas.

New York (18-19) had lost 17 of 19 meetings to Dallas (22-17) before Lin had 28 points, a career-high 14 assists and five steals in a 104-97 home win Feb. 19. He drew praise from point guard counterpart Jason Kidd afterward.

The Knicks sensation, though, has now hit a rough patch, missing 20 of 27 shots and totaling eight assists and 14 turnovers over consecutive road losses.

"I'd rather be going through these tough times right now than in the playoffs," Lin said. "So just trying to learn as much as I can and hopefully we can make a push."

Chandler can expect a warm reception from the Dallas fans after he helped the franchise win its first title in his lone season with the Mavericks by leading the club in rebounding and blocks.

"I'm just really looking forward to being back here," said Chandler, whom the Mavericks dealt to New York in December. "You know, last year was incredible. I felt a lot of the emotions from the fans here, I know how much they respect my game and what I was able to bring last year."

Chandler had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting with Dallas. He could have an easier time Tuesday if Mavs starting center Brendan Haywood does not play.

Haywood sprained his left ankle on the first possession of Monday's 95-91 loss at Oklahoma City and did not return.

The Mavericks have dropped six of eight, beginning with their loss to the Knicks. They came to New York on a season-high six-game win streak before their up-close view of 'Linsanity'.

Dallas played a fairly good game Monday before being outscored 8-0 over the final 2:45.

"We haven't really been sharp on our execution at the end of ball games and that's hurt us," guard Jason Terry said. "Not a big concern because I know the type of team we are. We thrive in those situations."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points on the heels of his season-high 40-point effort in Saturday's win over Utah. He and coach Rick Carlisle were not happy that the host Thunder shot 33 free throws compared to 10 attempts for Dallas.

"I don't want to be accusatory to the officials," Carlisle said. "I thought our guys were aggressive enough to have deserved a few more chances."

The Knicks are also among the NBA's best teams in getting to the line mainly because of Carmelo Anthony, who missed last month's meeting while sidelined with a groin injury. Anthony became a Mavericks nemesis during the 2009 playoffs, when he averaged 30.0 points against them in a playoff series victory with Denver.

The All-Star forward has had mixed results in five games alongside Lin in the starting lineup, averaging 18.4 points - more than three below his season average - on 41.7 percent shooting.

"We definitely have the talent, it's just about coming together at this point," Chandler said.

Nowitzki has 28 for Mavs in 95-85 win over Knicks

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Mar 07 2012 12:43AM

DALLAS (AP) While Linsanity is already simmering down a bit in New York, Dirk Nowitzki keeps having big games for the Dallas Mavericks like he has for so long.

Nowitzki scored nine of his 28 points in a game-clinching run after the Mavericks had lost the lead by going scoreless the first 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, and Dallas beat the Knicks 95-85 on Tuesday night.

"This was a much-needed win. It was a big character win," Mavericks guard Jason Kidd said. "We responded with some stops and Dirk made some big shots."

Nowitzki made a 14-foot fadeaway jumper with 4:34 left, starting a 14-0 run when the 11-time All-Star forward scored nine points.

That was right after the Knicks, who had trailed by as many as 19, scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter and went ahead 78-77 when Amare Stoudemire penetrated to make a shot with about 5 minutes left. It was their first lead since scoring the game's first four points, and didn't last long.

"The rhythm I had there in the second half, I was definitely looking for the ball," said Nowitzki, who scored 24 after halftime. "I was chasing the ball sometimes, I was looking at Kidd and basically telling him, just bring it over here and let me try and take it home."

Jeremy Lin had 14 points and seven assists, solid numbers but only half of what he had nearly 2 1/2 weeks ago when the Knicks won at home against Dallas. He had 28 points and 14 assists in that game before the All-Star break that ended a six-game winning streak for the Mavericks, and started a stretch of six losses in eight games before Tuesday night.

The Knicks are 2-4 since then, and have consecutive losses for the first time since Lin became a starter a month ago.

Stoudemire had 26 points. Tyson Chandler, who got his NBA championship ring from the Mavericks before the game, had six points, eight rebounds and a technical foul.

When Nowitzki made a short baseline shot with 2:27 left to stretch the lead to 88-78, Chandler was standing at the scorer's table waiting to get back into the game. He was motioning for a travel call against his former teammate, and even tapped an official running by before Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni called timeout.

"First half we did a great job containing him," Stoudemire said of Nowitzki. "Second half, he was able to get it going a little bit, a couple of open shots, a couple of tough shots, a couple of travel shots. But he played well."

Chandler got called for the technical during the stoppage in play, and Nowitzki made the free throw.

Rodrigue Beaubois added 18 points for the Mavericks, while Kidd had 15 points and six assists.

Dallas, which lost at Oklahoma City on Monday night, wraps up a stretch of nine games in 12 days with three road games in three nights, starting Thursday in Phoenix.

Mavericks fans were cheering loudly with 13 seconds left in the third quarter when Nowitzki, with JR Smith pushing against him, finally moved around and drew the foul while driving toward the basket. Nowitzki made both free throws to make it 77-63, but the Mavericks didn't score again until he dominated in the game-turning spurt.

Lin wasn't even on the court the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter when the Knicks briefly took the lead.

"We made a run with our second team," Lin said. "We couldn't close this game out and they obviously did a great job of getting defensive stops. Those stops led to quick easy buckets and Dirk is a clutch player who scores a lot in the fourth quarter."

The Mavericks played without starting center Brendan Haywood and post player Brandan Wright, who missed his third consecutive game after a concussion.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Haywood still had some swelling after rolling his ankle on the opening possession in the loss at Oklahoma City, but would travel with the team. Wright will not make the upcoming three-game trip.

Haywood became the Mavs starter after Chandler got a $56 million, four-year contract with the Knicks in a sign-and-trade that was part of a three-team deal at the start of training camp.

In a short ceremony before the game, Chandler became the last player from the Mavericks' 2010-11 team to get his NBA championship ring.

A video of Chandler's highlights from last season was shown before the 7-foot-1 center got a nice ovation from Mavericks fans.

"To us, he was that missing piece last year that took us over the top," Nowitzki said. "I was happy to see him get a great ovation by the crowd. That was a special moment for him and for us. I'm glad everything got their ring now and we can focus on getting to the playoffs."

Notes: The Knicks played the second of four consecutive road games, and four of six away from Madison Square Garden. They are at San Antonio on Wednesday night. ... Mavericks guard Vince Carter went 1-for-8 shooting for three points. He made a 3-pointer for the first Dallas basket, and didn't make another shot.

Notebook: Mavericks 95, Knicks 85

Posted Wednesday March 7, 2012 12:03AM

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki came to the Mavericks' rescue in a game that appeared headed for a blowout, scoring 24 of his 28 points in the second half -- 11 in the final five minutes -- to secure a 95-85 victory Tuesday against the Knicks in Dallas.

The Mavericks were rolling in the third quarter, up by as many as 19, but New York didn't roll over. A 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter gave the Knicks a brief 78-77 lead. Nowitzki finally put Dallas on the board with a jumper at the 4:34 mark, touching off a decisive 14-0 run for the defending champs.

Amar'e Stoudemire had 26 points, Jeremy Lin tallied 14 points and seven assists and Steve Novak scored 13 points (4-for-8 3-pointers) for New York. Rodrigue Beaubois had 18 off the bench and Jason Kidd finished with 15 points and six assists for Dallas, which won for the 13th time in its last 15 home games against the Knicks.

QUOTABLE: "In this season, no lead is safe, no deficit is too large. We just see it time and time again. We've just got to keep playing, keep playing, keep playing. They made a heck of a run to take the lead. We made a heck of a run to put the game away."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle

THE STAT: Playing their fourth game in five nights, veterans Nowitzki (11) and Kidd (five) had enough in the tank to score the first 16 of the Mavericks' fourth-quarter points.

TURNING POINT: After Nowitzki gave Dallas the lead with 4:34 left, the Knicks sent him to the free-throw line on the Mavs' next two possessions. He went 4-for-4 and then Kidd drained a clutch 3-pointer after a missed jumper by Novak.

QUOTABLE II: "I thought our energy was great. We were getting up into people. We were turning them over a little bit. They missed some shots. Novak hit some threes. Guys got to the rim."
-- New York head coach Mike D'Antoni on the 15-0 run to open the fourth quarter.

HOT: Coming off a 1-for-8 effort in the first half, Nowitzki scored 13 in the third and 11 in the fourth. He was 7-for-10 from the field after intermission and finished 10-for-10 at the line.

NOT: For the Mavericks, Lamar Odom finished 1-for-9 and Vince Carter was 1-for-8. Carmelo Anthony was held to six points on 2-for-12 shooting for the Knicks.

GOOD MOVE: Dallas took advantage of the speed of Beaubois, often at the expense of veteran Baron Davis. Beaubois scored 12 points in just 13 minutes in the first half.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Lin missed nine of his 13 field-goal attempts and was 5-for-8 at the line. He added three rebounds, two steals and two turnovers.

INSIDE THE ARENA: To a standing ovation, Knicks center Tyson Chandler received his 2011 NBA championship ring from Carlisle during a pregame ceremony. "Please help me welcome back a guy that will always go down as an all-time legendary Maverick player," the coach told the sold-out American Airlines Center crowd (20, 605). ... After the third quarter, a fan sank a halfcourt shot to win an 82-inch 3-D television.

NOTABLE: Monday's loss at Oklahoma City guaranteed that the Mavericks, in this abbreviated 66-game campaign, won't record at least 50 wins in the regular season for the first time since 1999-2000 (40-42). ... Dallas centers Brendan Haywood (left ankle sprain) and Brandan Wright (concussion) did not play. Haywood is day-to-day, but Wright will not travel on the upcoming road trip. ... Knicks forward Jared Jeffries left in the second quarter with a sore right knee and did not return. ... The Mavericks are 14-0 at home when leading entering the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Thursday @ Phoenix, Friday @ Sacramento, Saturday @ Golden State. For the Knicks, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday @ Milwaukee, Sunday vs. Philadelphia.

• Knicks: Jordan, Walker
• Mavericks: West, Wright

• Knicks: Chandler, D'Antoni, Smith
• Mavericks: Nowitzki

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #68 Marat Kogut, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 20605
• Duration: 2:18