Knicks’ cold first half spoils Jalen Brunson’s latest return to Dallas in 129-114 loss to Mavericks

DALLAS — No Luka Dončić? No Klay Thompson?

That was nary occupation for the short-handed Dallas Mavericks, who carved up the Knicks connected the eve of Thanksgiving.

The Knicks could not retrieve from an crystal acold commencement successful Wednesday’s 129-114 nonaccomplishment successful Dallas, during which they changeable conscionable 26.5% from the tract successful the archetypal half.

The Knicks went 4-for-21 (19.0%) — including 0-for-8 from 3-point scope — during the archetypal quarter, aft which they trailed, 28-15.

It lone got worse successful the 2nd quarter, erstwhile the Mavericks’ pb ballooned to 24 soon aft OG Anunoby missed an uncontested alley-oop dunk that served arsenic a cleanable encapsulation for the Knicks’ unsmooth night.

Anunoby began the crippled 0-for-11 from the tract and finished with eights points, two nights aft helium scored a career-best 40 successful a triumph implicit Denver.

Overall, the Knicks started the crippled 6-for-31 from the tract and finished the archetypal fractional 11-for-42, contributing to the Mavericks’ 60-38 pb astatine halftime.

It each added up to the Knicks falling to 10-8 this play and to 2-2 connected their five-game roadworthy trip.

Facing his erstwhile team, Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 37 points and 7 assists. It was the 2nd clip Brunson — who spent his archetypal 4 NBA seasons with the Mavericks — played successful Dallas arsenic an hostile since helium signed with the Knicks earlier the 2022-23 season.

Brunson scored connected 3 consecutive Knicks possessions precocious successful the 4th fourth to chopped the shortage to 12, but it was excessively little, excessively late.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 and heard chants of “overrated” from a instrumentality basal helium faced successful the Western Conference Finals implicit the summertime arsenic a subordinate of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, could not miss for overmuch of the evening.

Kyrie Irving made a 30-foot 3-pointer implicit Anunoby successful the archetypal quarter, past drained a likewise hard pull-up 3-pointer implicit Josh Hart successful the 2nd period. His pugnacious driving lay-up successful the waning seconds of the 2nd 4th served arsenic a dagger going into the break.

Irving finished with 23 points connected a nighttime Dončić missed his 4th consecutive crippled with a sprained wrist and that Thompson sat with plantar fascia.

But the Mavericks got plentifulness of accumulation from their relation players, too.

Quentin Grimes, whom the Knicks traded distant successful February, scored a season-high 21 points for Dallas — including a four-point play aboriginal successful the 4th fourth — and played pugnacious defence connected Brunson passim the night.

Spencer Dinwiddie, formerly of the Nets, scored 21 points disconnected the bench, portion Naji Marshall added 24 and P.J. Washington contributed 19.

A second-half surge saved the Knicks from a season-worst shooting night, which remains their 38.6% effort successful a nonaccomplishment successful Houston earlier this month.