Knicks’ previously potent offense flops in ugly loss to Mavericks

DALLAS — Karl-Anthony pointed at the reason for defeat on the locker room chalkboard, where 26 percent was highlighted in red so it couldn’t be missed.

“S–t, that’s the first half,” Towns said. “We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t shoot well at all.

Seven days and four games into their road trip, the Knicks are carrying symptoms of multiple personality disorder.

That was never more clear than Wednesday’s 129-114 pre-Thanksgiving feeding at the table of the Mavericks, a Knicks defeat that saw their vaunted offense wilt in American Airlines Center under Jason Kidd’s switching defense.

Two nights after the Knicks (10-8) set this season’s NBA high with 145 points in a victory over Denver, they shot (shield your eyes, children) 26 percent in that decisive opening half.

“We couldn’t buy a basket to save our lives to start the game,” Jalen Brunson said. “Defensively, we just weren’t there. It’s a long season. Honestly, got to limit the highs and lows and be as steady as we can be.”

The struggles were written all over the box score but best explained through OG Anunoby, who followed up his career-high 40-point performance Monday with his worst game as a Knick, by far.

Anunoby, the team’s MVP over the opening month, shot 3-for-15 with eight points. He and Josh Hart, the two starting forwards, combined for two points in the first half on 0-for-13 from the field.

The Mavericks deployed a switching defense on screens, which has been a bugaboo for Tom Thibodeau this season, and the Knicks had no answer.

“We’re giving teams the game plan [to stop us],” said Hart, noting how the Celtics and Rockets also stymied the Knicks with that strategy.

The only reason their scoring total and overall shooting percentage (47 percent) looked respectable is because they piled on the points in garbage time. The Knicks never got the deficit to single digits in the second half.

“I guarantee you Jason Kidd is a helluva coach,” Towns said. “He looked at the game [against Denver] and found ways he could play against us. He did a great job. They were ready.”

Towns and Brunson were the only weapons, combining for 62 points. Brunson had 37. Mikal Bridges had a silent 20 points on 19 shots.

The ball movement ceased.

The Knicks managed just 20 assists, even with the garbage-time additions, two nights after tying the franchise record with 45.

They went from burying the Suns a week prior to a dud against the Jazz to a gem against the Nuggets to a disaster against the Mavericks.

“Some nights you can look ridiculous and some nights you can look ridiculous in the other way,” Brunson said. “Like I said, we’ve got to level out. It can’t be a roller coaster. It has to be a steady incline for us all the way.”

The first quarter set the tone.

The Knicks’ high-octane offense, which entered Wednesday ranked second in the NBA in efficiency, managed just 15 points in that opening period on an array of terrible shots.

The Knicks missed 17 of their 21 attempts, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. They had two assists in the first quarter and trailed by 13.

Thibodeau’s squad never recovered.

It was down 22 at halftime, and 19 after the third quarter. About 90 minutes before tip-off, Kidd, the Mavericks head coach, declared Brunson and Towns as “the No. 1 pick-and-roll combination in the NBA.”

Then Dallas (11-8) locked down the rest of the roster. The Knicks bench was nonexistent, with 12 total points between Cam Payne, Jericho Sims and Miles McBride.

“We’ve been on the road a long time,” Thibodeau said, hinting that the Knicks were either mentally or physically fatigued. “Early start [6:30 p.m. local], but we got to be ready to go. And we got into that hole and then it was hard to dig out.”

The Mavericks, meanwhile, got 23 points from Kyrie Irving and shot 56.5 percent. Quentin Grimes, the former Knick, was a two-way force while helping guard Brunson.

Luka Doncic missed his fifth game over six with a wrist strain, but the Mavs have done well without him while going 4-1.

Much of that is about Irving, who has owned the Knicks. He’s won 19 of his past 21 matchups against the franchise, including 10 consecutive. Irving hasn’t lost to the Knicks since he was with the Celtics in 2018.

And it was easy Wednesday for the first 24 minutes

“We were terrible in the first half,” Hart said.