Knicks at Mavericks
The New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks partnered in a major trade last summer and they’ll face off Wednesday in Dallas for the first time since the six-player deal. Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton went to the Mavericks in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington. Chandler was the biggest piece in the puzzle, as he was the NBA defensive player of the year in 2011-12 and an All Star the following season, both while in New York.
Felton was available Monday against the Indiana Pacers after serving a four-game suspension but was not activated and the Mavericks went out and lost their second straight game to an injury-decimated opponent. Felton’s availability gives Dallas four point guards on its roster. The Knicks have lost 10 of their last 12 and the latest concern is leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who left late in the first half of Monday’s loss to the Houston Rockets with back spasms.
TV: 7:30 p.m., ESPN, MSG (New York), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-11): New York is 1-6 on the road and couldn’t beat a Houston team on Monday night that was without three of its starters, Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley. The Knicks could use a lift from starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert, who reached double figures in eight of the first nine games but has been held to single digits in the last three. His long-distance stroke seems to have gone south as he’s 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the last two games, a big shift from the 10-for-13 start he had this month.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (10-5): The Knicks are likely coming in at the wrong time as Dallas has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season, most recently against an Indiana team that came in 28th in the league in scoring. Two nights before that, the Mavericks fell to the same injury-plagued Houston team that took down the Knicks. New York came into Tuesday only slightly better on offense than the Pacers in team scoring at 94.8 points a game, so if Dallas can play any form of defense it should get back to its winning ways.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has won 20 of the last 25 meetings against New York.
2. James Harden of the Rockets is the only person since Michael Jordan to score at least 35 points in three straight games against the Knicks.
3. The Mavericks are 22-4 when Dirk Nowitzki scores at least 39 points.