Mavericks Do It the Hardaway, Knock Knicks in Second Half

Jalen Brunson's former employers used the services of a former New York Knick to doom their hosts to yet another defeat at Madison Square Garden.

Someone named Tim Hardaway went wild at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon. Alas for the hosting New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing had a Georgetown game to attend to, one staged at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., a four-plus hour drive from Manhattan.

Tim Hardaway Jr., the son of one of the Knicks' most dangerous turn-of-the-century enemies, sank eight three-pointers, five alone during a fateful third quarter for the Dallas Mavericks. The former Knick earned a season-high 28 points, alongside 30 for the NBA's leading scorer Luka Dončić. while helping the Mavericks to a 121-100 victory. 

Hardaway redeemed the family name at MSG in more ways than one: years after his father faced the Knicks in several tightly-contested playoff series as a member of the Miami Heat, the younger Hardaway had two terms with the Knicks, the latter ending when he was dealt to Dallas as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Hardaway's efforts allowed several other former Knicks to come off the Mavericks' bench when the visitors' lead reached as high as 32, including Reggie Bullock, Frank Ntilikina, and Theo Pinson (newly-signed Kemba Walker was unavailable due to injury). 

The third period saw Dallas (11-11) outscore the Knicks by a 41-15 margin in the third period, rendering a metropolitan first-half lead that reached as high as 15 forgotten. Donćić was held in check during the early portions, missing five of his first seven while Julius Randle opened with 14 points in the first quarter, which ended with a 12-point Knicks lead despite another early visit to the locker room for Jalen Brunson. 

But Dončić recovered well enough to not only finish with a positive shooting afternoon (11-of-21) but to earn his third consecutive 30-point game. He also partook in Dallas' assault from deep, as the 61 attempts the Mavericks took set a record for a Knicks opponent, breaking the previous high of 59 set by Houston in April 2019. With the Mavericks sinking 24, it marks the third time the Knicks have allowed at least 20 successful three-point attempts in a single game this season.

New York (10-13) dropped its fifth in a row at MSG, which hosted the first showdown between Brunson and his original NBA employers since he signed a $104 million contract with the Knicks over the summer. Randle cooled off after the first frame but led the team with 24 points in defeat. Brunson wound up playing 27 minutes despite his early departure, putting in 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with his first three-turnover game since Nov. 15. 

Immanuel Quickley did what he could to beautify the scoreboard when the Knicks emptied the bench in the final stages, scoring 23 on 7-of-11 from the field. It was hardly enough to prevent a packed MSG crowd from voicing its displeasure, as boos rained down from the rafters when things began to get out of hand. 

Brunson's return to Dallas still lingers on the schedule, as the Knicks will travel to American Airlines Center on Dec. 27. 

The Knicks have no time to rest, as former offseason target Donovan Mitchell will bring his Cleveland Cavaliers in for a visit on Sunday evening (6 p.m. ET, MSG). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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