Mavericks 107 Knicks 87: Game 26 Recap

The Lead
Mavs hot start carries them to a wire-to-wire win and another road victory over the East.

Box Score 

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Nowitzki, 16
Rebounds: Chandler, 14
Assists: Parsons, Ellis, 6
+-: Ellis, +24
Knicks
Points: Anthony, 26
Rebounds: Acy, Anthony, Stoudemire, Larkin, 5
Assists: Prigioni, 9
+-: Prigioni, +1

Game Ball
Tyson Chandler
8 points, 14 rebounds, 4-5 FG

X-Factor
J.J. Barea
10 points, 5 assists, 4-7 FG, 2-2 3PT

Goat Horns
Jose Calderon
3 points, 1-6 FG, 1-5 3PT

Play of the Game
On the Mavs first possession of the game Monta Ellis finds Tyson Chandler for an alley-oop dunk, setting the tone for the triumphant return of Tyson to the Big Apple.

Stat of the Game
The Mavericks have now won 11 road straight road games against the East dating back to last season. Their last loss came on February 11 in Charlotte to the then Bobcats.

Of Note

• The Mavs led by as much as 19 in the first quarter. Things were so bad for the Knicks that Derek Fisher replaced his entire starting five with 5 bench players.
• Chandler Parsons returned after missing the Golden St. game due to back soreness. He had 13 points and 6 assists.
• Dirk, Monta  and Parsons all sat out the entire fourth quarter on the front end of a back-to-back.
• After he hit 7 threes against them in Dallas, the Mavs limited former teammate Jose Calderon to just one three and 3 points. Meanwhile, Samuel Dalembert was scoreless in only 6 minutes of action.
• The win was the 6th this year by the Mavericks of at least 20 points. They had 3 such wins all last season.
• Dallas was plus +30 on three pointers as the were 15-33 from deep while the Knicks were 5-21.

Grades
Nowitzki: A-
Parsons: A
Chandler: A
Ellis: A-
Nelson: B
Harris: A
Jefferson: B+
Wright: A-
Aminu: B+
Barea: A

Quote of Note
"I wouldn't say there was any vindication, my whole thing is just I want to have a successful year. I feel like I've got a great opportunity with this team and I want to help lead this team to something special."
Tyson Chandler on his return to NYC

They Tweeted It
 

Dirk is treating the Knicks like Germany treated Brazil at the World Cup.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) December 17, 2014

Next Up
The Mavericks (18-8) look for another East road win against the Stan Van Gundy led Pistons (5-20), tomorrow at 6:30.