The Dallas Mavericks made a good showing in the first half. O.J. Mayo was still on fire, the defense was hustling (even though they couldn't find an answer to Carmelo Anthony.. miss you, Shawn Marion) and the Maverick were out-rebounding the Knicks.

Then halftime happened, and Dallas came out flat. They couldn't get shots to fall, they started turning the ball over with reckless abandon, and they were making silly mental mistakes. I hate complaining about the referees, and I don't think there were any blatant bad calls, but some of them felt ticky tacky and they definitely disrupted the Mavericks' offensive flow.

Despite the poor game, Mayo and Chris Kaman continued to put up impressive numbers, and it was apparent that the game would have turned out differently had Marion been available to bother Melo and Dirk Nowitzki been available... period. Dallas has a quick trip down to Charlotte tomorrow, so they'll have a lot to discuss on the way.