Mavs Favored Over Knicks in Porzingis’ MSG Return

Kristaps Porzingis returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time following his blockbuster trade to Dallas last winter. While the Mavericks lost to New York last week, the Knicks are in a free fall, making the Mavs a smart ATS play as they are big road favorites — and looking for revenge.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Dallas has been up and down, but the Knicks have been very bad lately. Add in that they’ve lost five of their last six home games against Dallas and it equals New York Sportsbook as a 7-point home underdog. The total opened at a low 213.5 as the UNDER has been prevalent in New York’s recent home games and in recent Knicks-Mavericks matchups.

Dallas News & Notes

Kristaps Porzingis got to experience facing the Knicks for the first time last week, and it didn’t go exactly as planned as New York pulled off the upset 106-102 win in Dallas.

He scored 28 points to go along with nine rebounds and five blocks, but he’ll look to have an even bigger night in the rematch against his former team, this time under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.

Porzingis won’t be the only Maverick likely to light up the scoreboard, though. Sophomore Luka Doncic has exploded to start the season, leading Dallas with 28.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game. He had a triple-double (38-14-10) against New York, so expect him to also have a big night in New York.

New York News & Notes

After missing nearly two weeks following the sudden death of his stepmother, Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. returned to action on Tuesday. He was eased into the game, but it was a forgettable performance during a 120-102 loss to Chicago.

He was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting, committed three turnovers and was a minus-22 in 14 minutes of action, looking sluggish and behind the play on defense. The key piece of the return in the Porzingis trade, Smith had a rocky debut with New York last season … and this year has been even worse for him and the 2-9 Knicks.

He’ll need to pick up his play soon if he wants to usurp Frank Ntilikina for the starting job — or even keep a roster spot — but in the immediate future, he’s going to have to find a way to not get embarrassed by early-season MVP contender Luka Doncic.

Betting Pick: Mavericks -7.5

Dallas will not be happy about losing to New York last week, plus MSG seems to bring out the best in opposing stars. The Knicks are in a tailspin and it will continue Thursday.