Mavericks 113, Knicks 97
Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their sixth straight win, a 113-97 victory over the host New York Knicks on Wednesday.
J.J. Barea added 22 points off the bench for the Mavericks (33-15), who outscored the run-and-gun Knicks, 59-39, over the middle two quarters to turn a highly anticipated matchup into a rout. Dallas held New York All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire scoreless in the second half.
The Mavericks are 31-8 this season when Nowitzki is in the lineup.
New York started strongly with 34 first-quarter points as it appeared set to atone for last season’s 50-point home loss to Dallas that stands as the second-worst defeat in franchise history.
But the Mavericks took charge from there, grabbing a 56-52 halftime lead and widening it to 82-58 late in the third quarter.
Tyson Chandler had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in four games for Dallas. DeShawn Stevenson scored 13 points and Jason Kidd had 10 assists.
Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line for the Knicks (25-23). Toney Douglas scored 22 points and Stoudemire had 21, all before halftime.