Randle Too Much As Mavs Fall To Knicks 117-109

The Dallas Mavericks struggles against the New York continued on Friday night, falling at the American Airlines Center after a dominant performance from Julius Randle.

The Dallas Mavericks returned home to the American Airlines Center on Friday night following a dramatic come-from-behind win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, looking to close the distance between themselves and the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference standings. 

Unfortunately for Dallas, it wasn't to be, as the Knicks used a dominant performance from Julius Randle, coupled with a solid defensive effort to stymie the Mavs' attack on their way to their fifth-consecutive win.

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Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic led the way for the Mavericks, with Porzingis scoring 23 points to go along with 12 rebounds and two blocks. Doncic, meanwhile, added 22 points of his own, while handing out 19 assists, and eight rebounds in 37 minutes. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. was the high man off the bench for the Mavs, scoring 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes, while Jalen Brunson largely struggled, finishing with just six points, and with a plus/minus of minus-20.

Overall, the Mavs struggled to get things going offensively, shooting 44.4-percent from the floor and 34-percent from downtown. 

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Julius Randle led the way for the Knicks, scoring 44 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists on 16 of 29 from the field, and six of 10 from three.

“I was locked in and focused,” said Randle. “I always love playing at home, in front of my friends, in front of my family. It’s always special for me.”

The Mavs will be back in action on Sunday night when De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings make their way to the American Airlines Center for the first of three matchups over the next two weeks between the three teams. 

The Kings are in the midst of a very tough season, having lost nine consecutive games, and have not won a single game in the month of April. 

“We’ve just got to keep our eye on the ball,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “There can’t be any letup. This is a season where there’s always a reason to let go of the rope, whether it’s for COVID or a bazillion games or whatever, there’s just a lot going on.”

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