Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 14 points in what might have been his final appearance at Madison Square Garden, Luka Doncic warmed up after an air ball on his first shot in the arena to score 16, and the Dallas Mavericks routed the Knicks, 114-90, on Wednesday night.
Dennis Smith Jr. had his second career triple-double, with 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 19 points. But most of the focus was on Doncic, the team’s star rookie, and Nowitzki, a 21-year veteran who may be in his final season.
Doncic also grabbed eight rebounds and made two 3-pointers, both in the fourth quarter, long after the game was secured.
He shot air balls on two of his first four attempts and wasn’t nearly as good as he had been in his previous game, when he scored a season-high 35 points on Sunday against Toronto and became the first teenager in N.B.A. history with multiple triple-doubles.
Then again, he didn’t need to do nearly as much against the team with the N.B.A.’s worst record. The Knicks (10-40) lost their 11th in a row, though they at least gave their fans something to cheer by giving Enes Kanter some playing time.
They also cheered Nowitzki when he walked toward the table to check in late in the first quarter, and they stood and cheered when he got into the game. Nowitzki came in averaging 24.9 points in 17 games at the Garden, his highest in a road arena.
He made his first three shots for 9 points in seven minutes, and then didn’t come back in again until the fourth quarter, when he nailed another 3.
Kevin Knox scored 17 points and Trey Burke had 16 for the Knicks, while Kanter had 5 points in nine minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr. was 2 for 11 for 6 points.
Fans began chanting “We want Kanter! We want Kanter!” in the third quarter. Kanter, a former starting center, waved from the bench and clapped along, and then was actually inserted into the game a few minutes later. That ended a streak of four straight games in which he didn’t play. He kissed the Knicks logo at center court when he walked onto the floor.
Kanter’s first shot was an air ball before he got on the board with a dunk.
The Knicks finished January with a 1-12 record.
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