The Boo Birds Reign Down: Knicks Humiliated at Home by Short-Handed Mavericks

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NEW YORK — The “Mecca of Basketball” felt more like a courtroom on Monday night as the New York Knicks were put on trial by their own fans. In a performance described by head coach Mike Brown as “embarrassing,” the Knicks were dismantled 114–97 by a Dallas Mavericks team missing several key players.

By the time the halftime buzzer mercifully rang, the Mavericks held a staggering 75–45 lead, and the Madison Square Garden crowd responded with a deafening chorus of boos that followed the team all the way to the locker room.

The Anatomy of a Meltdown

Despite welcoming back Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart from ankle injuries, the Knicks looked slow, disjointed, and disinterested from the opening tip.

The First-Half Avalanche: Dallas opened the second quarter on a 13–0 run. By the time Max Christie buried his fifth three-pointer of the half, the lead had ballooned to 30.
Effort Gaps: The Mavericks, playing without their full rotation, outran New York for 27 fast-break points in the first half alone.
The Flagrant Foul: Frustration boiled over when Karl-Anthony Towns was assessed a flagrant foul for a groin-area kick on Dwight Powell during a shot attempt—a play that served as a microcosm of New York’s night.

The Christie and Flagg Show

While the Knicks sputtered, two young Mavericks stole the spotlight in the world’s most famous arena:

Max Christie’s Masterclass: Christie finished with a season-high 26 points, including a scorching 8-of-10 from three-point range. He single-handedly outscored the Knicks’ entire bench.
Cooper Flagg’s MSG Debut: The No. 1 overall pick didn’t disappoint in his first professional game at the Garden. Flagg looked every bit the superstar, tallying 18 points and 7 rebounds, including a personal 7–0 run to start the second quarter that broke the game open.

Box Score Highlights

Player	Team	Stats
Max Christie	DAL	26 PTS, 8-10 3PT, 6 REB
Cooper Flagg	DAL	18 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST
Jalen Brunson	NYK	22 PTS, 6 AST (9-24 FG)
Karl-Anthony Towns	NYK	22 PTS, 18 REB, 1 Flagrant

Voices of the Night

The post-game comments were as bleak as the scoreboard.

Jalen Brunson (NYK): “I’d be booing us too. Straight up. We aren’t playing with the edge we need to win in this league right now.”

Josh Hart (NYK): “I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today. It was embarrassing. We have to look in the mirror.”

Mike Brown (NYK Coach): “There was nothing to be said at halftime except for ‘do your job.’ We got outplayed and outworked in our own building.”

The January Slide

Since winning the NBA Championship in June, the Knicks have been in a free fall. They have now lost 9 of their last 11 games, dropping to 25–18. What once looked like a battle for the top seed in the East has now turned into a desperate fight to avoid the Play-In tournament.