Is this the real trigger for the Knicks? After seven defeats in a row, now Evan Fournier’s teammates have won three in a row. Moving. And tonight, they definitely won by 30 points in Dallas! In his home town, Julius Randle confirmed that he had regained the right attitude, if not being skilful, and that night he received the support of his starters.
It was first Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett who struck to take an 11-point lead after four minutes (13-2). Dallas does not put one away, and the Knicks insist with Jericho Sims at alley-oop or Evan Fournier at 3-pts. It’s a choppy and tough game, and the Mavs are suffocated: 17 points scored in the first quarter.
As the Knicks’ backups level with the starters, the dominance continues, and the gap swells. RJ Barrett and Alec Burks sign a 10-0 to pass the gap to +24 (41-17). There are then nine minutes left to play in the first half… But Dallas still can’t do it, undermined by this clumsiness from afar, and at the break, there is a 27-point gap (61-34).
Back from the locker room, Luka Doncic wakes up and the 3-points finally fall in. The Mavericks nibble their delay, and come back under the bar of 15 points. This time, the Knicks do not collapse, and under the leadership of Julius Randle, they revive the machine to finally win by 30 points (107-77). Out of the game, Dallas only scored 12 points in the last quarter…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The clumsiness of the Mavericks. Dallas simply had its worst night of the year on shots with 31% overall and 14% from 3-point range. Luka Doncic’s teammates shoot an awful 6 of 44 from afar, and they just missed their first 19 3-point shots…
– The physique of the Knicks. It was physically that the Mavericks exploded. For one evening, we found the Knicks of last season with toughness and stature. They dominated the rebound, but also in the intensity in attack. The Knicks have constantly sought contact, in attack and defense.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ RJ Barrett. His streak of 20+ points is coming to an end, but he’s had a very clean game with a 6 of 7 on shots. It was he who put the Knicks on the right track, and it was still him, at the start of the second quarter, who widened the gap.
✅ Alec Burks. His double-double is the symbol of the aggressiveness of the Knicks. He was clumsy, but he made up for it with a lot of activity on the rebound, and like his teammates, we saw him tearing up on balls that were dragging.
✅ Luka Doncic. It is the only one to float, and it is essentially in the 3rd quarter with 17 of its 31 points to maintain hope. The Knicks hustled him, and he didn’t try to force shots. It’s just that his teammates didn’t put a shot…
⛔ Reggie Bullock. The former Knicks winger hit rock bottom with an 0 of 8 on shots. He is not the only one to have missed the target, and we will also note the 0 of 10 from 3-pointers by Jalen Brunson and Davis Bertans.
THE FOLLOWING
Dallas (40-26) : beginning Friday of a “road trip” and it starts in Houston
New York (28-38) : Friday, the Knicks move to Memphis
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