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Knicks will take ‘ugly win’ to end road losing streak: ‘We can build on it’

It was hardly an artistic masterpiece of a game for the Knicks, but when the buzzer sounded, it was recorded as a 113-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, their first road victory of the season. 

“Finally. Finally,” Jalen Brunson, who scored a team-high 28 points, said about snapping the four-game losing skid. “We’re happy, but we got a lot of work to do.”

In the beginning, it was anything but beautiful: 9-for-25 from the floor, including 3-for-11 from behind the arc in the opening quarter. Down the stretch, it looked like New York was going to squander the hard work put in on the defensive end – holding Dallas to 16-for-42 (38.1 percent) from the floor in the first half to stay in the game – and a three-point edge Landry Shamet provided when he knocked down back-to-back threes with 31 seconds remaining. Why? Because of free-throw line ineptitude: 19-for-35 (54.3 percent) for the game and 3-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

After Brunson made 1-of-2 at the line with 3.8 seconds remaining to put the Knicks up a pair, Dallas' inbound to mid-court quickly found the speedy Brandon Williams driving on Shamet. After a little contact, his off-hand hooked the Knicks defender as he went up for the lay-up. The ball went in, but the referee whistled for an offensive foul with 0.7 seconds left.

“Tough call,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said. “He had a good look, but they called a foul.”

Mike Brown said Shamet was the team’s defensive player of the game for doing a “fantastic job on the ball” all night.

“I give [referee JT Orr] credit, it was a hook,” the Knicks coach said of the call. “And a lot of people would not have called it down the stretch, but it was the right call. And Landry busted his behind to get down there to create that.”

“I mean, chaos,” Brunson said of the game's final moments.

Shamet acknowledged it was a tough way for a game to end. 

“That was a good call by the officials,” he said. “Tough way to see the game end on a call like that, but I think they made the right call. I want that one, as a defender, I want that one.”

But even in victory, Shamet focused on how he escaped culpability for mistakes down the stretch.

“We don’t want it to come down to that, though,” he continued. “We gotta do a better job of playing 48 minutes and find a way to create some more separation earlier in the game.”

And it wasn’t all bad for the visitors. New York shot 21-for-43 (48.8 percent) from the field in the second half, including 9-for-20 from behind the arc after going 3-for-22 from deep in the first half. And Shamet, who was 1-for-4 in the game’s first 46:58, knocked down the big shots when late, when his team was down two and then 30 seconds later with the score tied.

“The ball found me, I didn’t find any open looks early," he said. "Stayed composed, and knew, had a feeling some would come in the fourth and they did. Just step in, ready to shoot, good plays by my teammates, and I’ll take them.”

Even though Shamet made the clutch shot to put the Knicks ahead for good before what can only be described as a game-winning defensive stop, the two he missed at the line up by three with 22 seconds left remained a thorn in his side.

“I gotta make two free throws,” he said. “A wild finish down the stretch. It’s a road win, they’re not always gonna be pretty. That was not 48 minutes of basketball that we would like to play.

“But you’ll take the road win, and we can build on it.”

Brunson echoed the sentiment.

“Found a way to win,” he said. “It was ugly, but when you win ugly, it’s the signs of a team learning, getting better.

“So no matter what the situation is, we gotta find a way to win.”

In the end, the Knicks made just enough plays to get the job done. Proving, once again, it is better to be ugly in victory than pretty in defeat.

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Knicks earn first road win of season, sneak by Mavericks, 113-111

The Knicks held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks, 113-111, on Wednesday night for the first road victory of the season after dropping their previous four.

Jalen Brunsonscored 28 points after missing the past two games with a right ankle sprain and earned his first victory in Dallas against his former team.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- The Knicks took a quick 5-0 lead, but soon found themselves down 11-6 after Brunson turned it over and Klay Thompson hit a pull-up three-pointer, forcing Mike Brown to call timeout. Brunson made a floater out of the timeout for his first make in three attempts, as that jump-started a 7-0 run. 

Dallas soon got hot from beyond the arc to take a five-point lead with about two minutes remaining in the quarter. Brunson then found a rhythm and hit two straight three-pointers after the team had started 1-for-9 from deep. Naji Marshall countered with his third three, and Dallas' seventh, with the clock winding down to take a 25-24 lead after the first quarter.

-- The poor shooting continued into the second quarter for the Knicks, especially for Miles McBride (0-for-6 from three in the first half), while the Mavs stayed hot and made their eighth three-pointer to stay in the lead. Mikal Bridges sank back-to-back mid-range shots to keep it close, but Daniel Gafford continued to find ways to score inside and gave the Mavs a 44-37 lead with about four minutes left in the first half.

Brunson connected with Karl-Anthony Towns for a one-handed slam to tie the game, giving the Knicks a spark. Dallas turned it over for a tenth time as Bridges took it in for an easy dunk and the lead. Marshall's big first half continued for the Mavs with an and-one floater, but then Brunson came right back with his own version to put the Knicks up 52-50 at halftime.

-- Despite leading, the Knicks shot a rough 3-for-21 (14 percent) from three in the first half and missed six free throws. However, the Mavs made just two three-pointers in the second quarter, going 9-for-23 (39 percent) overall in the half. Brunson led the way with 15 points and Bridges had 11 on 5-for-7 shooting. Marshall scored 19 points for Dallas in 17 minutes off the bench.

-- Josh Hart provided energy for the Knicks in the third quarter, blocking Brandon Williams' layup, leading to a Brunson bucket. He then grabbed a defensive rebound and found Towns for his first three of the night to go up two. Brunson went on to make his next three jumpers, giving the Knicks their biggest lead of the night at the time, 69-64, with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

After a D'Angelo Russell floater cut the Knicks' lead to six, Towns was called for an offensive foul against Gafford, leading to a Russell three-pointer to keep it a close game. Russell's hot quarter continued as he and McBride traded makes before Max Christie scored on a wild layup just before the buzzer. The two teams both scored 35 points in the third quarter with the Knicks still leading, 87-85.

-- The back-and-forth affair continued in the fourth with both teams making three-pointers after early struggles. Christie gave the Mavs a lead with two straight threes and Thompson hit a jumper before McBride countered with his third three-pointer, as the Knicks still trailed, 98-96. Robinson scored on a tip-in to make it a one-point game, but then Bridges threw a poor pass that led to a fastbreak dunk for Marshall, extending the Dallas lead.

Bridges made up for the mistake with a corner three-pointer two possessions later to tie the game at 106-106. After Dallas made two free throws, Hart stole the ball from Marshall and Brunson found Landry Shamet in the corner for three, giving the Knicks a 109-108 lead with about a minute remaining. Shamet came through with another three with 31.4 seconds left, putting NY up three points. An offensive foul call againstWilliams with the clock winding down caused some drama, but was upheld as he hooked around Shamet, ending the game.

-- Brunson scored 28 points, including 12 in the third quarter, to go along with five assists, three rebounds, a steal, and a block. Towns flirted with a triple-double, putting up 18/14/6 with two steals. Bridges scored 16 points with three steals and two blocks. Marshall and Russell both scored 23 points off the bench for the Mavs.

The Knicks were able to hold on for the win despite shooting 19-for-35 (53 percent) from the foul line and 12-for-42 (29 percent) from three-point land.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

Hart's energy off the bench was the difference and was especially noticeable in the second half. He finished with 16 points, going 3-for-4 from three, with 10 rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block in 30 minutes.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks continue on their road trip, heading to Orlando to face the Magic on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

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MLB will comply with Senate's request for gambling investigation documents, commissioner says

MLB will comply with Senate's request for gambling investigation documents, commissioner says originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Major League Baseball says it will comply with a Senate committee’s request for documents detailing gambling investigations.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee sent a letter Monday to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred asking for information by Dec. 5. The request followed indictments of Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz accusing them of taking bribes to rig pitches for bettors. Both have pleaded not guilty.

“We’re going to respond fully and cooperatively and on time to the Senate inquiry,” Manfred said Wednesday during a news conference at an owners meeting.

Two days after the indictments were unsealed on Nov. 9, MLB said its authorized gaming operators will cap bets on individual pitches at $200 and exclude them from parlays.

“We think the steps we’ve taken in terms of limiting the size of these prop bets and prohibiting parlays off them is a really, really significant change that should reduce the incentive for anyone to be involved in an inappropriate way,” Manfred said.

He said it was too early to say whether MLB will take a stance on prediction markets, in which contracts are traded based on actual events such as game scores.

“We’re well aware of the issues, the different regulatory framework, but not in a position where I want to articulate publicly a position on it,” he said.

Manfred said MLB’s internal investigation into the Cleveland pitchers didn’t have a timetable. Ortiz was placed on paid leave on July 3 and Clase on July 28. They are not on track to accrue additional salary until opening day on March 25.

“We think that we should take advantage of the offseason to make sure that we conduct the most thorough and complete investigation possible,” Manfred said.

MLB is aiding players who have received threats related to gambling following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized sports betting in most states.

“We have had in place for some time services that are available to players that receive threats of this kind in terms of providing support through law enforcement,” he said. “We do take it as a very serious issue and do provide support on an ongoing basis.”

Collective bargaining

Manfred avoided discussing management’s positions in collective bargaining for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires in December 2026 and whether MLB intends to push for a salary cap system.

“We have a significant segment of our fans that have been vocal about the issue of competitive balance and in general we try to pay attention to our fans, so it is a topic of conversation,” was the most he would say.

MLB is expected to lock out players on Dec. 2, 2026, in order to try to get an agreement without shortening the 2027 season.

“There has never been a lost game since I became involved as an employee of baseball and it is my goal to get this next one done keeping that record intact,” said Manfred, who joined the MLB staff in 1998. “It’s a lot of work to be done between now and then, but that’s my goal.”

All-Star break changes

The amateur draft is moving up a day to the Saturday before the All-Star Game and the Futures Game is being pushed back to Sunday and will be followed by a new event with former players and celebrities. NBC will televise the first hour of the draft and the rest of the round on Peacock and the MLB Network. NBC also will televise the Futures Game.

Return to Iowa

The Field of Dreams Game will resume on Aug. 13 with Minnesota playing Philadelphia at Dyersville, Iowa, which Netflix will stream. The Field of Dreams, site of the 1989 movie, hosted the Yankees and White Sox in 2021, and the Cubs and Reds the following year before closing for renovations. The Triple-A St. Paul Saints face the Iowa Cubs at the same site on Aug. 11.

Manfred said MLB plans to play in Iowa regularly but perhaps not annually.

Milwaukee will play Atlanta in the Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 23.

PitchCom

MLB signed a six-year agreement through 2031 with PitchCom, the electronic device for catchers to signal pitches the sport has used since 2022.

“It’s been important both in terms of moving the game along and deterrence of sign stealing,” Manfred said.

Rays and Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay remains on track to return to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, for its home opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 6 after a year of home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The Rays were forced from their ballpark by damage from Hurricane Milton.

“I think they only have two panels left, I believe, and they expect the roof to be dried out the first week in December, which is a really important milestone for us,” he said. “There’s going to be new turf and padding, new flooring throughout, renovations of the suites, the seating areas. All the air quality tests have come back fine.”

Peace prize?

MLB does not intend to follow the lead of FIFA and issue its own peace prize.

“No plans in that regard,” Manfred said.

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MLB will comply with Senate's request for gambling investigation documents, commissioner says

MLB will comply with Senate's request for gambling investigation documents, commissioner says originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Major League Baseball says it will comply with a Senate committee’s request for documents detailing gambling investigations.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee sent a letter Monday to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred asking for information by Dec. 5. The request followed indictments of Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz accusing them of taking bribes to rig pitches for bettors. Both have pleaded not guilty.

“We’re going to respond fully and cooperatively and on time to the Senate inquiry,” Manfred said Wednesday during a news conference at an owners meeting.

Two days after the indictments were unsealed on Nov. 9, MLB said its authorized gaming operators will cap bets on individual pitches at $200 and exclude them from parlays.

“We think the steps we’ve taken in terms of limiting the size of these prop bets and prohibiting parlays off them is a really, really significant change that should reduce the incentive for anyone to be involved in an inappropriate way,” Manfred said.

He said it was too early to say whether MLB will take a stance on prediction markets, in which contracts are traded based on actual events such as game scores.

“We’re well aware of the issues, the different regulatory framework, but not in a position where I want to articulate publicly a position on it,” he said.

Manfred said MLB’s internal investigation into the Cleveland pitchers didn’t have a timetable. Ortiz was placed on paid leave on July 3 and Clase on July 28. They are not on track to accrue additional salary until opening day on March 25.

“We think that we should take advantage of the offseason to make sure that we conduct the most thorough and complete investigation possible,” Manfred said.

MLB is aiding players who have received threats related to gambling following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized sports betting in most states.

“We have had in place for some time services that are available to players that receive threats of this kind in terms of providing support through law enforcement,” he said. “We do take it as a very serious issue and do provide support on an ongoing basis.”

Collective bargaining

Manfred avoided discussing management’s positions in collective bargaining for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires in December 2026 and whether MLB intends to push for a salary cap system.

“We have a significant segment of our fans that have been vocal about the issue of competitive balance and in general we try to pay attention to our fans, so it is a topic of conversation,” was the most he would say.

MLB is expected to lock out players on Dec. 2, 2026, in order to try to get an agreement without shortening the 2027 season.

“There has never been a lost game since I became involved as an employee of baseball and it is my goal to get this next one done keeping that record intact,” said Manfred, who joined the MLB staff in 1998. “It’s a lot of work to be done between now and then, but that’s my goal.”

All-Star break changes

The amateur draft is moving up a day to the Saturday before the All-Star Game and the Futures Game is being pushed back to Sunday and will be followed by a new event with former players and celebrities. NBC will televise the first hour of the draft and the rest of the round on Peacock and the MLB Network. NBC also will televise the Futures Game.

Return to Iowa

The Field of Dreams Game will resume on Aug. 13 with Minnesota playing Philadelphia at Dyersville, Iowa, which Netflix will stream. The Field of Dreams, site of the 1989 movie, hosted the Yankees and White Sox in 2021, and the Cubs and Reds the following year before closing for renovations. The Triple-A St. Paul Saints face the Iowa Cubs at the same site on Aug. 11.

Manfred said MLB plans to play in Iowa regularly but perhaps not annually.

Milwaukee will play Atlanta in the Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 23.

PitchCom

MLB signed a six-year agreement through 2031 with PitchCom, the electronic device for catchers to signal pitches the sport has used since 2022.

“It’s been important both in terms of moving the game along and deterrence of sign stealing,” Manfred said.

Rays and Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay remains on track to return to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, for its home opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 6 after a year of home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The Rays were forced from their ballpark by damage from Hurricane Milton.

“I think they only have two panels left, I believe, and they expect the roof to be dried out the first week in December, which is a really important milestone for us,” he said. “There’s going to be new turf and padding, new flooring throughout, renovations of the suites, the seating areas. All the air quality tests have come back fine.”

Peace prize?

MLB does not intend to follow the lead of FIFA and issue its own peace prize.

“No plans in that regard,” Manfred said.

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No. 22 Auburn bounces back in a big way and beats Jackson State 112-66

KeShawn Murphy had 19 points and seven rebounds, Filip Jovic added a career-high 18 points off the bench and No. 22 Auburn dominated Jackson State 112-66 Wednesday night. Elyjah Freeman chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Auburn (4-1), which bounced back from its first loss of the season and improved to 41-0 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Coming off a one-point loss to then-No. 1 Houston in Birmingham, Auburn was the better team inside and out.