There is still disappointment for Knicks center Tyson Chandler that the Mavericks — who won the 2011 NBA championship — did not have a chance to repeat as players, including himself, landed across the basketball landscape.
But Chandler doesn’t see himself out of the title chase. These Knicks remind him of those Mavs.
“It was an unfortunate thing because we won a championship together and never got a chance after that. They broke up the team. But at the end of the day I’m in a great place and I like my chances here,” Chandler said after his usual terrific defense, 11 points and nine rebounds — five offensive — were huge in the Knicks moving to 4-0 with a 104-94 victory over Dallas last night at the Garden. “It definitely reminds me of the chemistry and the personalities.”
And Chandler isn’t the only one who likes the Knicks chances.
“They are one of a handful of teams that has a chance to come out of the East,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “He [Chandler] is one of the reasons they’re a contender.”
Chandler was at his aggravating best in the fourth quarter. The Knicks, who at halftime experienced what trailing feels like after a quarter for the first and only time in four games, were still slugging it out with the Mavs. So Chandler served as the conductor when they pulled away.
With the score 88-82 early in the fourth, Chandler grabbed an offensive rebound. And scored. Dallas, though, responded — twice in fact — and stood within four points when Carmelo Anthony misfired. Chandler tipped and missed but then controlled the tap to Raymond Felton who found Anthony in the corner for a 3-pointer and a 93-86 Knicks lead. And after the Chandler-led defense recorded another stop, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year came up huge offensively.
Anthony missed, Chandler rebounded, Chandler scored, Chandler was fouled, Chandler whooped it up at 6:08. One free throw later and the Knicks were up 10, their eventual margin of victory in their 10-point triumph.
“I just wanted to give my guys some energy. We were a little flat-footed,” said Chandler, who seemed to direct his enthusiasm at the Mavs bench. “I don’t know what I was doing. Somewhere in that area I heard a few familiar voices.”
But the energy spilled over.
“It’s always nice when you have a guy like Tyson who can clean up,” said Jason Kidd, also part of those 2011 Mavs champs. “Those are the hardest plays to guard and he did that. [Dallas] had some great looks at the basket and Tyson cleaned them up. When you have that, it kind of deflates the defense because they felt, ‘Hey, we got a stop but just couldn’t finish the play.’ ”
Consider the Knicks energized, the Mavs deflated.
“When he’s healthy, he’s a difference maker,” Carlisle said. “He was huge for us in the one year we had him and he’s really turned this franchise around with his enthusiasm, exuberance, not to mention his abilities on the court.”