NEW YORK — A game that started with a crowd united in its hatred of Kristaps Porzingis ended with the Latvian punctuating a victory with a dunk along the baseline.
Porzingis didn’t have a big game in his return to Madison Square Garden and he didn’t need to. Luka Doncic buried the Knicks in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 99-86 Mavericks’ win.
Porzingis, the enemy of Knicks fans for requesting a trade, was booed throughout. Capacity crowd at MSG was only about 2,000 because of COVID-19 restrictions, but it still managed a loud “KP sucks” during lineup introductions. The chant continued into the first quarter, and it might’ve represented the loudest — most unified — noise from Knicks fans since they were allowed back inside.
Porzingis seemed rattled, just like his previous appearance at MSG. Or maybe he was just pressing. He missed his first shot badly. He missed his second shot. He missed six of his first seven.
Porzingis eventually caught enough of a rhythm to complete a respectable, albeit hardly impressive, stat line: 14 points, eight rebounds, 6-for-17 shooting. The boos and chants faded as the Mavericks took control of the game, sending the Knicks to a three-game losing streak for the first time since January. Porzingis’ final bucket was an alley-oop jam with 37 seconds left, giving Dallas a 14-point advantage.
Doncic had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, keying Dallas’ fateful 12-0 run in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks’ All-Star, Julius Randle, on the other hand, struggled and shot just 5 for 20 with 14 points. The heavy minutes seem to be catching up with Randle.
The Knicks were at full strength minus Mitchell Robinson, who is out indefinitely with a broken foot. Derrick Rose and Reggie Bullock returned after missing the previous contest, an embarrassing loss to the lowly Timberwolves.
The first half produced an unlikely hero for the Knicks, Obi Toppin, who has struggled mightily as a rookie, had nine points in seven second-quarter minutes. The highlight was a put-back jam that sent the bench into a frenzy. Porzingis was defending in the area of the jam, adding to the play’s excitement. Toppin, however, only played four minutes in the second half and didn’t score.
GM Scott Perry remains from the regime that sent Porzingis to Dallas, but the latest iteration of the Knicks braintrust can largely wash their hands of the deal. They’re reaping the benefits of the cap space that signed Randle, and the two future first-round picks from the Mavericks. But it was largely a bust because, among other reasons, the two best players who were part of the deal — Porzingis and Tim Hardaway — still play in Dallas.
“I think you just deal with where you are today. I wasn’t here so I can’t really comment on all that went into the decision making there,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “(Porzingis) is a good player, a terrific talent. They’re an excellent team. And we feel good about the people that we have. So we just worry about today, being ready to play against them.”
