The Knicks suffered injuries and lost the bridge game.
The Knicks, who were playing with a skeleton lineup due to injuries and pending trade pieces, suffered a 122-108 loss to the Mavericks at The Garden as expected due to Isaiah Hartenstein’s left Achilles tendon aggravation.
Hartenstein has been plagued by injuries since last season, and did not play in the second half due to an injury that caused him to miss two games this season.
“I haven’t talked to the medicals yet,” Tom Thibodeau said, repeating a phrase he’s used the last few times in his postgame press conference.
Hartenstein appeared to be injured again in the second quarter when he missed a floater and landed hard.
The center, who left the locker room without speaking to the media, remained in the game but did not return for the second half, and Jacob Toppin, the rarely used younger brother of former Nick Obi Toppin, started in the third quarter.
The Knicks will be without most of their best players in Jalen Brunson (ankle sprain), Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder), OG Anunoby (elbow surgery), Alec Burks (trade), and Bojan Bogdanovic (trade). The number of healthy players has been reduced to seven. Doncic showed no mercy.
The All-Star had 39 points (including 15 points in the fourth quarter) and 11 assists in 40 minutes as the Mavericks (29-23) defeated the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday to complete a sweep of New York. I showed you.
Kyrie Irving added 16 points in 36 minutes in his first game at MSG in almost two years.
It was the second time in the last 12 games that the Knicks (33-19) lost. But they didn’t have much of a chance either.
Other than Donte DiVincenzo, who scored a team-high 36 points, the home team lacked a reliable offensive line.
With Hartenstein out, the Knicks turned to regular G Leaguers Charlie Brown Jr. and Taj Gibson, who was unemployed until the 38-year-old signed a 10-day contract last week.
Thibodeau had little trust in Toppin, so the Knicks were mostly running with a six-man rotation.
To their credit, the Knicks were full of energy. They never took the lead in the match, trailing by as many as 20 players, but never letting go of the rope. With around 3:30 left in the game, the lead was narrowed to eight points, giving the crowd a fleeting hope of a turnaround.
The Mavericks fought back with four straight points to seal the victory.
Josh Hart recorded his second career triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in 39 minutes. Miles McBride dropped 21 points in 45 minutes and thrilled fans with a highlight and -1 tomahawk jam. Precious Achiuwa got his 16 boards in his 42 minutes.
“We were just playing hard. Obviously we were the underdog, so the main thing was to play hard and compete,” Hart said. “I think we accomplished it at a high level. We had some tough plays and I feel like it just didn’t go our way. But we fought and we competed. NBA, there. There’s no need to dwell on it. I’ll be back on Saturday.”
It was the second time this season the Knicks played on a big trade day. The first time was on Dec. 30, when he was shorthanded at Indiana. This time, things were even worse without Brunson and Randle.
And even though they lost their starting center, they lost again.
