Mavs Fighting For Win In Coach Carlisle Milestone Game

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle will coach his 1,500th NBA game tonight when he visits Madison Square Garden.

The Dallas Mavericks look for a momentous victory at Madison Square Garden vs. the New York Knicks on Friday night. The battle between two teams vying for playoff positioning is also Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle's 1,500th NBA game coached.

“When you get into this league as a player and you had an opportunity to make the league, you hope it never ends,” Carlisle said. “When I moved over to coaching it was a similar thing. It’s a highly competitive business. I’ve never taken it for granted. I’ve really approached it that every day is like a one-day contract, and I try to find the joy in the journey of each season.”

Carlisle owns a 819-680 won-loss record for a winning percentage of 54.6 percent. His impressive resume includes reaching the playoffs in 13 of the 18 years he’s coached, including capturing the NBA title with the Mavs in 2011.

A Mavs victory would put them five games over .500 for the first time this season. Dallas has won 12 of their last 18 games and it is the fourth of a five-game road trip for the Mavs.

FLASHBACK: In his last trip to Madison Square Garden, Luka Doncic stunned with a 33-point, 10-rebound, 11-assists performance, becoming the youngest player to record a 30-point triple-double at the Garden, passing Indiana guard Chuck Person (22-176) in 1986.

[READ: Luka Doncic: Echoing Legends, Chasing Ghosts On Mavs' East Coast Trip]

[READ: Redick Aims To Help '2 Mavs Unicorns' To Playoffs Success]

ODDS: The Mavs entered the day as 5.5-point favorites over the Knicks, and the total over/under is 213.5 points.

BETTING TRENDS: The Mavericks are 4-1 against-the-spread in their last 5 road games and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games following a ATS win. The under is 13-5 in Mavericks last 18 overall. The under is 4-0 in Knicks last 4 overall.

RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (25-21) at NEW YORK KNICKS (24-24)

WHEN: Friday, April 2, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)

TV/RADIO: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA Leaguepass, ESPN 103.3 FM, Univision 1270 AM