Mavs at Knicks: 14-8

[ddh33]

Dallas 99, New York 89. After not getting to see the last game against Utah because of me mis-communicating with my DVR, I got to see the Mavs have a very good first half against a really, really bad Knicks team. Dallas defended better than I have seen in a long time, or the Knicks were much worse offensively than I have seen in a while. The Mavs actually pushed the lead to 20 in the third quarter before the Knicks made a strong push to get the game back down to around 7. The Knicks were never able to get stops though, and the Mavs kept scoring until they put the game away.

The Mavs shot very well tonight, and it's kind of strange to see the Knicks only lose by 10 when they shot so much worse than the Mavs. Dallas moved the ball better too. I would have liked to have seen a better job on the boards and the free throw line.

Dirk was fantastic tonight. Maybe he's starting to come around all over again. He scored an efficient 36, and I really liked seeing him play so aggressive. I just don't see any reason in the world why Dirk is not the first option all of the time. I know teams have been doubling him harder and more often than ever before, but I think the Mavs still have to find ways to get him involved and keep him dominant. I don't always see enough of that, and I refuse to accept how a player of his talent can be taken away some nights by what the defense does. Dirk, Avery, and the rest of this team just can't allow that. Thankfully, the Knicks really even tried to take him away.

Josh Howard had another very nice game with 22-6-4. I still worry that he's settling too much for his jumper, but I also admire the way he's improved that aspect of his game. Now that he is also adding in some improvement in ball movement, it makes him and the team better.

I thought the Dallas centers were very good tonight. They combined for 11-10-5, and they completely outplayed Eddy Curry, who seems to be even more out of shape. Those guys had a big impact on this game though.

Devin Harris was very quiet. I mean, he was very quiet. He shot 3 times and made none of them. He did have 4 assists and 2 steals, but he essentially deferred to his teammates all night long. Despite the win, I don't think this is what is best for this team.

Jason Terry was quiet too, but he did hit some big shots when the Knicks were trying to come back. Otherwise, it wasn't a memorable night for him either.

Stack had 13 and 4 tonight, and he's looking better and better. That's really needed for this team. Everyone knows how he was struggling earlier in the season. I know he's been a little bit of a slow starter, but when he plays like an old man, this team just isn't the same.

Brandon Bass didn't get quite as many minutes tonight, but he was fairly productive. He even battled inside against bigger men pretty well. As effective as Dirk and the centers were, the team didn't use him as much.

Devean George almost looked like himself tonight. He brought a burst of energy for the few minutes that he was on the court. He had a couple of blocks from the weakside, had a steal, and grabbed a couple of boards. I'll be glad when he and Eddie Jones get healthy because I'm very interested to see what the team looks like at that point.