Mavericks at Knicks
The New York Knicks' fans and critics spend a lot of time talking about the triangle offense preferred by team president Phil Jackson versus more modern, spread-out attacks, but that focus might be switching to the other side of the ball. The Knicks will try to hold an opponent under 115 points when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
New York seemed to turn a corner with a strong effort in a 110-96 win over Brooklyn on Wednesday but was smoked in a 115-87 loss at Boston on Friday and followed in up with a 118-107 setback at Toronto on Saturday. Boston and Toronto both feature guard tandems that like to penetrate the lane, and New York could not stop the penetration or guard pick and rolls without fouling - sending the Celtics to the free-throw line 43 times and the Raptors 38. The Mavericks have players on the roster that fit the mold of penetrating guards but can't seem to keep any of them healthy. Point guard Deron Williams (calf strain) is not expected to play in New York while Devin Harris (toe) is questionable, leaving J.J. Barea to crash the lane and open shooting space for Wesley Matthews, Seth Curry and Harrison Barnes.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (2-6): Dallas opted to rest Barea, Matthews and center Andrew Bogut on the second night of a back-to-back with Williams, Harris and Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles) already out against Golden State on Wednesday, and the potential for a three-game winning streak evaporated in a 116-95 setback. The Mavericks hope to get Nowitzki back soon and the future Hall of Famer played in only three of the first eight games, shooting 35.9 percent from the floor. "Obviously, I want to play in the Garden on Monday (against the Knicks) and I want to play in Boston (on Wednesday) -- two of my favorite road spots," Nowitzki told ESPN.com. "But I just don't know at this point if it's going to happen."
ABOUT THE KNICKS (3-6): New York may have some issues at the defensive end, but the offense looked plenty strong on Saturday behind Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. The two frontcourt stars combined for 52 points on 19-of-37 shooting but could not stay out of the foul trouble plaguing the whole team - combining for 10 personal fouls. “They put a bigger guy on me, and they put a smaller guy on (Porzingis)," Anthony told reporters. "So we were just trying to find that mismatch and work that mismatch."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks C Joakim Noah grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds on Saturday.
2. Barnes is averaging 30 points in the last three games after putting up 18.2 in the first five contests.
3. Dallas took the last five in the series.