Mavericks at Knicks
Dallas center Tyson Chandler shined earlier this season in the first game against the New York Knicks, his former team. Chandler and the Mavericks get another crack at the woeful Knicks in his return to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The big man, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds in his team's 105-98 loss to Golden State on Saturday, spent the past three seasons with New York - including his only All-Star campaign - before producing his best effort this season against the Knicks on Nov. 26.
Chandler had 17 points and a season-high 25 rebounds as the Mavericks outlasted the Knicks 109-102 in overtime at home on Nov. 26. That came early in New York's 10-game losing streak, which it snapped at Boston on Friday before suffering another overtime loss at Toronto on Sunday. Carmelo Anthony had 34 points and nine rebounds in the 95-90 setback, the Knicks' fifth consecutive loss at home.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Southwest (Dallas), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (17-8): The loss to Golden State left Dallas to 0-5 against the top six teams in the Western Conference but it came with an asterisk as surging forward Chandler Parsons was sidelined with a back ailment. Parsons is averaging 21.8 points on 52.2 percent shooting this month and his absence was a factor in the league's top-ranked offense shooting 40.4 percent and falling shy of 100 points for just the fourth time this season. Parsons has returned to practice and hopes to play Tuesday.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (5-21): Anthony sat out the loss to Dallas with back spasms but New York managed to hang around with a balanced attack that featured a combined 25 points from shooting guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. While Shumpert is out for at least three weeks with a shoulder issue, Smith has missed three straight games with a heel injury and remained out of practice Monday. Tim Hardaway Jr. continues to fill the void and is averaging 19 points while shooting 39.1 percent during the three-game stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Former Maverick PG Jose Calderon had season highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knicks in the Nov. 26 meeting.
2. Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-winner at the buzzer in the Mavericks' last visit to New York on Feb. 24, nullifying Anthony's 44 points.
3. Mavericks G Monta Ellis is averaging 25 points over his last two games after a season-low two points on 1-of-11 shooting in a loss at Memphis last Tuesday.