The Dallas Mavericks have been arguably the NBA's surprise team to start, sitting second in the Western Conference coming into the night, while the New York Knicks languished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-7 record.
Despite the early season form lines, the script was flipped, as it was the Knicks who stunned the home team, 106-102.
Luka Doncic continues his blistering start
Dallas may have lost the game, but it was not due to their franchise star underperforming.
Doncic recorded his fourth triple-double of the season, finishing with a carer-high 38 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists on 13-for-26 shooting from the field.
38 PTS | 13 REB | 10 AST
— NBA (@NBA) November 9, 2019
Luka Doncic with a career-high in scoring and his 4th triple-double of the season! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/seujhChK13
Impressively, Doncic was able to record the career-high point total despite shooting just 3-for-11 from deep, as he went to work closer to the basket, connecting on 10-for-15 from inside the arc and finishing 9-for9 from the free-throw line.
The Mavericks may have come up short, but Doncic continues to put himself in the MVP conversation, just months removed from being awarded the Rookie of the Year.
Veteran forwards carry the load
The Knicks came up short in their efforts to acquire a marquee free agent in the offseason, though, it was two of their veteran additions that came up huge against the Mavericks.
Marcus Morris, Julius Randle, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson combined for 76 points and 37 rebounds, contributing over 70 percent of the Knicks offence.
On a night were impressive rookie, RJ Barrett managed just three points on 1-for-9 shooting, the experienced quartet carried the load.MOOK PUTTING IN WORK 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8SAobJR0H2
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 9, 2019
On a Knicks squad that is made up of an interesting assortment of individual talents, David Fizdale will be hoping the experience will result in more wins moving forward.
Porzingis shows out against old squad
Kristaps Porzingis was once thought to be the face of the New York Knicks. The young unicorn carried the hopes of Knicks basketball.
That was of course before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks at last years trade deadline.
KP AND-1!
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 9, 2019
🎥: @FOXSportsSW pic.twitter.com/ZNpanArylQ
Given the above mentioned fact that the Knicks were unable to acquire the superstar free agent they desired, New York will be hoping this isn't the first of many big outings Porzingis rolls out against his former team.
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