Knicks 107, Mavericks 77: Scenes from the Knicks, kings of Dallas

Earlier this afternoon, Stefan Bondy of the Daily News tweeted out that the Knicks were the only team Luka Doncic hadn’t defeated in Dallas. The Knicks backed up their recent Dallas dominance in a big way, throttling the Mavericks 107-77.

The rout was on early, with the Knicks taking a 14-point lead in the first quarter. They nearly doubled up the Mavs by halftime, 61-34. Dallas couldn’t hit a three-pointer to save their lives, finishing the half 1-21 from downtown.

Unfortunately, the Knicks fell prey to the dreaded third quarter of doom, but only to a certain extent. Doncic caught fire, scoring 17 points in the period. But Julius Randle (team-high 26 points) did enough scoring, while some changes in defensive tactics managed to stifle Luka somewhat. The Knicks got back to pouring it on in the fourth quarter, and the rout was on.

RJ Barrett (18 points) had his streak of 20-point games snapped, but that was really the only negative in this one. The Knicks now head to Memphis with a surprisng three-game winning streak. Recap to come.