No Garden-variety loss as Knicks fall by 50

January 25, 2010|Associated Press

Jose Barea kept finding unimpeded paths on his drives to the basket, and two things became clear yesterday at Madison Square Garden: The Mavericks couldn’t be stopped, and the Knicks didn’t seem interested in proving otherwise.

Dallas put on a shooting clinic that crushed New York’s spirits, ignoring the absence of two starters and rolling to the biggest win in franchise history, 128-78.

“They took our heart out of us,’’ Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Drew Gooden stepped into the lineup with 15 points and 18 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 20 points, and the Mavericks beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time. Dallas shot 58 percent from the field, was 12 of 22 from beyond the arc, and 16 of 17 from the foul line.

The Mavericks led by as many as 53 and outscored the Knicks, 70-31, over the middle two quarters on the way to bettering their 149-104 victory over Golden State Jan. 15, 1985.

Barea, the former Northeastern standout, replaced point guard Jason Kidd (family reasons) in the lineup and scored 11 points, and rookie Rodrique Beaubois backed him up with 13. Gooden filled in for Erick Dampier, who was inactive with a left knee injury.

The Knicks offered no resistance in the worst home loss in franchise history and the second-worst loss overall, trailing a 162-100 defeat at Syracuse Dec. 25, 1960.

New York was 4 of 25 from 3-point range in its lowest-scoring game of the season.

Raptors 106, Lakers 105 - Hedo Turkoglu made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left, allowing Toronto to move to 6-0 at home this season against Western Conference opponents.

Kobe Bryant missed a last-second fadeaway jumper and fell one assist shy of his first triple double of the season, scoring 27 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. The Lakers have dropped two of three.

Andrea Bargnani led the Raptors with 22 points, and Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack each had 18. Turkoglu scored just 9 points but finished 6 of 6 from the foul line.

Clippers 92, Wizards 78 - Baron Davis had 11 points and 11 assists, and Los Angeles finished with 26 assists on 37 baskets in a win at Washington. Chris Kaman led the Clippers with 20 points.