PREVIEW
MAVERICKS (25-21) AT NEW YORK KNICKS (24-24)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: Bally Sports Southwest; NBA TV
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM; Univision 1270 AM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: Thanks to building a 23-point lead and holding on at the end, the Mavs defeated the Boston Celtics, 113-108, on Wednesday night to run their record to 2-1 on this five-game road trip. The trip ends with Saturday’s contest at the Washington Wizards before the Mavs return home to entertain the Utah Jazz on Monday night. . .The Mavs have never been five games over .500 this season. . .This is the 1,500th NBA game coach Rick Carlisle will have coached. He has a 819-680 won-loss record for a winning percentage of 54.6 percent, and has been in the playoffs in 13 of the 18 years he’s coached, including capturing the NBA title with the Mavs in 2011. “When you get into this league as a player and you had an opportunity to make the league, you hope it never ends,” Carlisle said. “There’s always an edginess about every day that you’re on an NBA team. When I moved over to coaching it was a similar thing. It’s a highly competitive business. I’ve never taken it for granted. I’ve really approached it that every day is like a one-day contract, and I try to find the joy in the journey of each season.”. .Luka Doncic scored 36 points and was 11-of-15 form the field (and 7-of-11 from 3-point land) during the win over the Celtics. . .As he faces the team – the Knicks – that drafted him No. 4 overall in 2015, Kristaps Porzingis will be returning to Madison Square Garden as a visitor for just the second time in his career. In his first visit to the Garden as a visitor on Nov. 14, 2019, Porzingis collected 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and was booed every time he touched the basketball during the Knicks’ 106-103 victory. The Knicks traded Porzingis to the Mavs on Jan. 31, 2019. . .The Mavs are 14-11 on the road and 10-7 against Eastern Conference foes.
About the Knicks: Led by Plano native Julius Randle, the Knicks have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season. A 6-8, 250-pound power forward, Randle leads the Knicks in scoring (23.1 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg) and assists (5.8) and just recently played in his first All-Star game. . .Also for the Knicks, RJ Barrett averages 17.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg, Alec Burks is averaging 13 ppg, Derrick Rose averages 12.8 ppg and Immanuel Quickley averages 12.5 ppg, and Elfrid Payton is scoring at a 12.2 ppg clip. . .The Knicks, who haven’t been to the playoffs since 2013 and are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, credits their success to first-year coach Tom Thibodeau. “I think Thibs is a great coach,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “When he went to Chicago (in 2010), they had immediate success and they had quite a turnaround there. Thibs is a different maker. When he went to Minnesota (in 2016) they went from a team that hadn’t made the playoffs (since 2004), and they became a playoff team (in 2018), and the Knicks are certainly in position in the East to do that. He’s a guy that has great respect within the coaching ranks because of what he stands for as a tactician, what he stands for as a guy that believes in tough, hard-nosed play and unselfish play, particularly on the defensive side. He’s got this team playing to its strengths. I can tell you that none of the coaches that know him are surprised at all that this turnaround has happened.”. .The Knicks are 14-14 at home, and 7-9 against Western Conference teams. . .The Knicks have won four of their last seven games, but enter tonight’s game with a two-game losing streak following losses to Miami (98-88) on Monday and at Minnesota (102-101) on Wednesday.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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