Mavericks AM News: Dallas Hits 3s In Win Over N.Y.

79. Final. 97. 27. 104

The Dallas Mavericks used a flurry of long balls to hold off a late push by the New York Knicks in a 104-97 victory at Madison Square Garden.

The Dallas Mavericks were trying to make it three-straight wins on the road with mostly dominant 104-97 win over Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks on Monday night. The victory marked the first back-to-back road wins for the Mavs this season.

While shooting guard Wesley Matthews was nowhere near as dominant from 3-point range as he had been on Sunday night in Washington D.C., the Mavericks struck numerous times from downtown in outrunning New York.

A total of 13 3-point shots was enough to keep the Mavericks in control for most of the game, sometimes leading by as many as 20 points in the second and third periods.

Playing without point guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea, starting point guard Deron Williams put on another strong showing with 20 points and 7 assists. Shooting guard John Jenkins was active while scoring 7 points in his 12 minutes on the floor.

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As is often the case, power forward Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks with 25 points. The future hall of fame scorer added a couple of long balls as well.

This game matched up Nowitzki with Knicks rookie-power forward Kristaps Porzingis, a 7’3” sharpshooter who was chosen 4th-overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. The freakishly tall Latvian shooter has drawn comparisons to Nowitzki due to his height and range. Porzingis was the games leading scorer with 28 points on 13-18 shooting – bright future for this kid, for sure.

Anthony heated up late en route to 17 points on the night, but that wouldn’t be enough to catch Dallas before the final whistle.

The Mavericks move back up to the 4th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 13-9.

Clear is that, if healthy, Dallas looks like a playoff team, although it doesn’t seem like anybody in the conference – or in the NBA, for that matter – is capable of beating top-seeded Golden State. As defending world champions, the Warriors are a ridiculous 22-0 and might be more interested in continuing to set records than they are pondering another title. Until this team so much as drops a single game, there’s no reason to project the Mavericks as anything other than a pretender in what seems like a one-team NBA.

The Mavericks get their first shot at Golden State on December 30 at American Airlines Center, but there’s plenty of business to take care of before then.

Dallas finally gets some time at home starting Wednesday night as the Atlanta Hawks come to AAC for an 8:30pm CT tip off. The Mavs then play two more at home against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and then the Phoenix Suns next Monday night.

Mavericks News From Around The Internet

Nowitzki, Mavs Hold Off Porzingis (Sports Illustrated via Associated Press)

Having watched Porzingis drop 28 points against the Mavericks, the comparisons to Nowitzki seem rather well founded. Yes, it’s early, but this rookie can play some basketball.

Nowitzki On Porzingis: “He’s the complete package.” (Sports Illustrated – SI Wire)

Heght along makes a decent comparison between Porzingis and Nowitzki, but what exactly did Dirk, himself, think after his first head-to-head meeting with the young Latvian?

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Williams Talks NY In First Trip Back To Big Apple (Dallas Morning News – Eddie Sefko)

No, this game wasn’t all about Nowitzki and Porzingis. Deron Williams was making his first trip back to New York, the same market he just left after a disappointing stint with the Brooklyn Nets. I’d say that Williams had the last laugh in this case.

Published on 12/08/2015 at 15:15 PM
Last updated at 12/08/2015 at 15:15 PM

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