Knicks 100, Mavericks 96: Scenes from a poorly-reffed slopfest

The New York Knicks held off the Dallas Mavericks to win a rough-and-tumble, poorly officiated bloodbath, 100-96.

Frank Ntilikina won his debut battle against Dennis Smith Jr.—though the two rarely shared the court—posting 7 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. He stuffed J.J. Barea’s tiny ass into a locker on several occasions.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 29 points on the evening while fighting off some rabid squirrel defense from Wesley Matthews. Ol’ Wes was hitting the Unicorn with everything but lead pipes and sawed-off shotguns as the refs let this game get seriously out of hand (especially in the fourth quarter).

As much as fans may hate to admit it, the biggest play of the evening came from Jarrett Jack, who hit a teardrop runner (and was then tackled, without a foul) to put the Knicks up by 2 late. I still say he shouldn’t have been in there, though—Frank was kicking ass, aside from one late turnover.

Big bros Enes Kanter (13 points, 18 rebounds) and Kyle O’Quinn (15 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles. This game was grimy and gross, but the ‘Bockers pulled off the W.

Recap to come.