Knicks' public timeout highlights slide as trade-deadline options loom

Cbssports reports the New York Knicks' slump was on full display Monday when Jalen Brunson gathered teammates for a players-only meeting during a second-quarter timeout in their home loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks were throttled at Madison Square Garden for their ninth loss in 11 games, a stretch that included boos from the crowd.

Brunson and Josh Hart had returned from injuries, but a banged-up Mavericks lineup (Cooper Flagg, Dwight Powell, Caleb Martin, Naji Marshall and Max Christie) saw Christie make a career-high six 3-pointers in the first half and finish 8 for 10 on threes. Defensively, New York has slipped to 18th in defensive rating and 27th over the last 15 games; among the team's five most-used two-man combinations, Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns register the worst defensive rating even as OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson try to cover the gaps.

Coach Mike Brown said "I'm OK with the boos," and though he had talked about trying different lineups, it's unclear whether shuffling will help.

Key Topics

Sports, New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson, Karl-anthony Towns, Madison Square Garden, Defensive Rating