The New York Knicks lose to the Dallas Mavericks 122-108. The shorthanded Knicks put up a valiant effort against a top NBA player.
The New York Knicks lost a tough game to the Dallas Mavericks 122 to 108. After trading four players earlier in the day and with five players hurt, the Knicks only had eight players to work with. That set them up for an uphill battle, but they fought.
New York stayed close throughout the first half, thanks to three-point shooting. Luka Doncic was in MVP form, with Kyrie Irving to help. But Donte DiVincenzo kept pace with Doncic, and Josh Hart helped everywhere. The wheels didn’t fall off until Isaiah Hartenstein left the game with a sore Achilles at halftime.
By the third quarter, New York’s only big men were Precious Achiuwa and Taj Gibson, fresh off his couch. Their bench comprised of two G-League regulars, Jacob Toppin and Charlie Brown Jr. The Mavericks pushed their lead to 20, but New York still wouldn’t go away. It took 39 points in 40 minutes from Luka Doncic to ensure a win for Dallas.
There’s not much to glean from a game that ended with New York down to four regular rotation players. But they fought too hard to ignore, so let’s look at the hard work that forced Luka to fight so hard.
The Knicks’ starters put up a fight
Miles McBride: 21 PTS (9/22 FG, 2/10 3PT, 1/1 FT), 5 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL, 2 TO in 45 mins
Miles McBride often received the basketball with five seconds or less on the shot clock. The Mavs focused on DiVincenzo and closed driving lanes for Josh Hart, so suddenly, McBride had to create looks with no time to work. I’m starting there because his poor shooting numbers aren’t as bad as they seem.
McBride displayed a nice variety of scoring approaches. He hit midrange pull-up jumpers repeatedly and finished at the rim with the best dunk of the night. His three-pointers were off for once, but he still hit a couple. McBride’s playmaking didn’t consist of anything fancy, but he made smart, simple, effective passes.
McBride rested for three minutes throughout the night. He did everything he could. He even stayed in front of Luka at times, but the Mavs’ star was too big. Deuce gets a 2.5 out of 5 for fighting without any chance to rest.
Donte DiVincenzo: 36 PTS (13/27 FG, 7/12 3PT, 3/4 FT), 3 AST, 3 REB, 4 TO in 43 mins
We’re witnessing the best basketball of Donte DiVincenzo’s career. That’s been true all season, but watching him go basket for basket with Luka Doncic put his success in perspective. The Mavs could cheat off poor shooters on the weak side and focus on DiVo defensively. It didn’t matter. Donte needed the slightest space to hit three, regardless of distance.
DiVo’s slashing wasn’t as effective as his recent success, but that’s warranted when there’s no weak side spacer. The Mavs often forced Donte to make quick kicks to Josh Hart; otherwise, he’d be trapped in traffic. That explains his high turnovers and few assists compared to FGAs.
The Big Ragu was brilliant. He’s talked about learning in Golden State, and I’ll send Steph Curry a “thank you” letter. DiVincenzo looks like the lost Splash brother, and we have him for about 12 million per season for years to come. DiVo gets a 4.5 out of 5 for his incredible effort.
Josh Hart: 23 PTS (8/22 FG, 3/8 3PT, 4/4 FT), 12 AST, 10 REB, 1 STL, 2 TO in 39 mins
Josh Hart always fights, but he had more work than normal this time. Hart became the defacto second option for the depleted New York Knicks. He’s still hampered by hesitation to shoot, but he attacked with dribble drives and fadeaway jumpers. Most importantly, Hart created looks for teammates, including Donte DiVincenzo, who needed any bit of space he could get.
Although he knocked down threes at a good clip, Hart hesitated often. Two of his makes came after he hesitated, and the defenders still didn’t close out. Teams routinely give him space, and he has to punish that spacing more consistently. This was a good night to work on it.
Hart finished with a triple-double. New York needed his playmaking, and his double-digit rebounding has become routine in Randle’s absence. Hart was great, even going back and forth with Luka for a few plays in the fourth. Josh gets a 3.5 out of 5 for his valiant effort.
Precious Achiuwa: 13 PTS (6/9 FG, 1/2 3PT), 3 AST, 16 REB, 1 BLK, 3 TO in 41 mins
Precious Achiuwa is another fighter. He managed 13 efficient points without a true point guard to make life easy. Most of Achiuwa’s work came off high effort. He had a pair of putbacks and made nice weak side cuts while rarely getting to be the screenman.
Precious’ passing is a bit of a revelation. It felt like osmosis from Hartenstein when Achiuwa drove the lane and dropped a bounce pass off to I-Hart for a dunk. The former Raptor also took three-pointers when the Mavs gave him too much space, knocking down a corner three in the fourth.
I didn’t mention defense because we’ve discussed it often enough. Precious played tough defense but wouldn’t stand out because he had to match with the limited Mavs’ bigs for most of the action. He gets a 3 out of 5 for another night of tough work filling in for an All-NBA player.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 10 PTS (4/5 FG, 2/2 FT), 2 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL, 2 TO in 15 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein looked poised for a big night. None of Kleber, Jones Jr, or Powell could contain Hartenstein. The big waltzed into the lane for some dunks and offensive boards. He dribbled into another floater, which continues to surprise me.
I-Hart only tallied two assists, but he was a useful outlet. Big Hart would trot to the elbow as a big passing target when players got trapped in driving lanes or corners. Hartenstein could spray the ball to cutters or weak-side shooters from that spot. It’s a huge benefit for ball-handlers to have a big release valve like that.
Hartenstein gave us the latest injury scare. He came down awkwardly after leaping for a rebound and immediately showed signs of pain. I-Hart never returned to the game, so we’ll skip an impact score and wish him good health.
Not much help from New York’s depleted second unit
Jacob Toppin: 2 PTS (1/2 FG, 0/1 3PT), 1 AST, 2 REB in 12 mins
Jacob Toppin scored his first career points on a high-flying putback. We didn’t see much from him in a limited time, but a few things stood out. He moved the ball well as a quick passer, took the shot when the defense gave him space, and flew whenever he jumped for rebounds.
Toppin also guarded Luka Doncic in isolation at times. I respected the effort, though Doncic hit a few step-back jumpers over him.
Charlie Brown Jr: 3 PTS (1/5 FG, 1/3 3PT), 2 REB, 1 BLK in 22 mins
Charlie Brown flashed useful athleticism, but his jumper wouldn’t fall. His form looks clean enough, and I think that will be a make-or-break trait in determining whether he ever makes an NBA roster. He has all of the other tools necessary.
Brown also made a respectable effort to contain Doncic. He gave up the same step-back jumpers that Toppin did.
Taj Gibson: 0 PTS (0/3 FG, 0/1 3PT), 1 AST, 4 REB, 1 TO in 22 mins
Taj Gibson went from jogging on the Brooklyn Bridge to playing more minutes than anyone expected for the second time this season. After Hartenstein fell, Taj switched from a helpful rest option to the only big man left.
While Taj played, the Knicks could hang on offense because of his quality screening and disciplined defense. But Gibson quickly slowed down and the returns would diminish. He labored through sections of the game because there weren’t any other options to give him a break. We could all learn from this big man’s grind.
Gibson gets a 2.5 out of 5 for his sheer heart and being the only Knick with a positive +/-.
Tom Thibodeau loses another key player
Tom Thibodeau has a reputation for running players into the ground, but it’s not fair to blame him. The Knicks’ rotations have been duct-taped together for weeks now. He has to lean on whichever players can give him minutes, and there aren’t many left.
Thibs needs the All-Star break as much as the players do. Trying to find ways to remain competitive while players are dropping on a nightly basis must be exhausting.
Closing Thoughts
The day’s big news was New York’s trade deadline acquisition of Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. CP’s prodigal son returns home, bringing a big sharpshooting forward along with him. The trade gives New York now five players that shoot 40% or more from behind the arc. Julius Randle’s post-ups consistently produce open looks from three, and suddenly, the Knicks have a roster full of players who can capitalize. This team will be formidable against every team they play if they can just get healthy.
On the other hand, we also have to say goodbye to a few players. Quentin Grimes is the most painful player to lose, as he was our first-round pick and a player many fans saw potential in. But Grimes regressed this season, and the win-now nature of the roster put pressure on him. Detroit is a great place to start over, with some quality point guards to help him.
We also wave goodbye to Ryan Arcidiacano, the king of the three-second violation callout. We say peace to Evan Fournier, who finally gets a new team, and Malachi Flynn, whom we barely got to know. I have nothing but respect for all three guys. Thanks for your hard work, fellas.
The Pacers are next, and let’s just hope New York has enough players to avoid a forfeit. If they compete and win, I’ll be ecstatic. But at this point, I’m just happy to see these guys compete. I’ll see you next time, Knicks fam!
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