Mavericks 104 Knicks 97: Game 22 Recap

The Lead
Another strong shooting night gives the Mavs a back-to-back sweep despite a late Porzingis-led Knicks rally.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Nowitzki, 25
Rebounds: Pachulia, 8
Assists: Williams, 7
+-: Nowitzki, +21
Knicks
Points: Porzingis, 28
Rebounds: Calderon, 7
Assists: Anthony, 8
+-: Thomas, +5

Game Ball
Dirk Nowitzki
25 points, 6 rebounds, 9-18 FG

X-Factor
Raymond Felton
14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Play of the Game
After a Carmelo Anthony missed three, Deron Williams finds Dirk for one his patented trailer threes to give the Mavs an 18 point lead early in the third quarter.

Stat of the Game
The Mavericks made 13 threes, their second highest total of the season behind the 16 they made in Washington last night. Before that they hadn't made more than 11 in a game.

Of Note

• J.J. Barea (sprained ankle) and Devin Harris (hip) both sat out for Dallas.
• After the Mavs led by much as 20 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks stormed back to get as close as 4 points in the last minute before the Mavs held on.
• Rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis had 12 of his game high 28 points in the 4th.
• Deron Williams had 20 points and 7 assists in a semi-return to New York after he was bought out of his contract with Brooklyn this summer.
• Dirk scored 11 of his 25 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game.
• The Mavericks have won 11 out of 14 and 23 out of 28 against the Knicks.

Quote of Note
"The comparisons are more than fair. He's way ahead of the curve. When I was 20 I was scared to death out there. He's almost averaging a double-double out there. He's better than I was in my 20s, so the comparison is probably unfair to him. He's a complete package."
Dirk on Porzingis

Tweet of the Night

When your idol becomes your rival (via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/rQ5uIaEVw6

— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) December 8, 2015

Next Up
The Mavericks return home for a long awaited homestand that starts against the Hawks (13-9) on Wednesday.