Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 20 points and the Dallas Mavericks routed New York 128-78 on Sunday, rolling to the most lopsided NBA victory in their 30-year history.
Playing without Jason Kidd because of a family matter and Erick Dampier because of a left knee injury, the Mavericks shook off the absence of two starters to deliver their eighth victory in a row over the Knicks in the past four years.
“They took our heart out of us,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Drew Gooden, filling in for Dampier, scored 15 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Dallas, which broke the team record for win margin set in a 149-104 romp over Golden State in 1985.
“They were discouraged and you could tell early,” Terry said. “If you’re getting stops and then coming down and making buckets, that deflates a team. It’s human nature.”
It was the Knicks’ worst home loss and the second-largest loss in New York’s 64-year club history, after a 162-100 loss at Syracuse on December 25, 1960.
“We’re a better team than this,” said Jared Jeffries, whose 14 points led the Knicks. “We’ve got to come out, give effort and have a little fight. We just didn’t have it.”
The Mavs shot 58 percent from the field, including 12-of-22 from three-point range, and made 16 of 17 free throws. Dallas led by as much as 53 in the blowout, the largest lead any team has enjoyed over another in the NBA this season, an honor held by the Knicks earlier this month when they led Indiana by 48 points.
RAPTORS 106, LAKERS 105
Hedo Turkoglu made two free throws with 1.2 seconds to play on Sunday as Toronto edged the NBA champion Lakers.
Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points, Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack added 18 apiece and Marco Belinelli chipped in 15 for the Raptors, who improved to 6-0 at home this season against Western Conference opponents.
In other NBA action, it was:
● Clippers 92, Wizards 78
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38