New York
Knicks

Updated: January 9, 2009, 4:40 AM EST

D'Antoni employed a battery of drills to encourage ball movement and smart decisions. He encouraged the Knicks to get out and run whenever possible. Too often, selfish possessions are coming back to haunt this team.

"I don't think it will turn it on totally, but we have to get back to running," he said.

And the Knicks did pick up the pace early on in Dallas.

"We're just making a conscious effort to do it," Chris Duhon said. "I think in the last couple of weeks, we got away from it."

There was a slowdown in the fourth quarter, though. A chance to win a big game slipped away when the Knicks went six for 24 from the field in the closing stanza.

"Maybe we got tired," D'Antoni said. "I thought we got better, but it's not where we need to be."

MAVERICKS 99, KNICKS 94: Another collapse down the stretch added to the frustration the Knicks experience whenever they show up in Dallas where they have dropped nine in a row.

The picked up the pace, started well and forced the Mavericks to give chase.

It was close throughout, and the Knicks moved in front 86-85 with 6:21 to play in the fourth quarter when Tim Thomas hit from behind the arc to end a lengthy scoring drought. Too many rushed shots prevented them from extending the lead.

Even so, the Knicks had three chances to jump in front in the final two minutes.

Chris Duhon missed a runner. Wilson Chandler traveled. Duhon got all the way down the lane and missed a lay-up. David Lee fouled Dirk Nowitzki with 40 seconds to play, and the Mavericks star was 2-for-2 at the line, making it a 97-94 lead.

After taking a timeout, the Knicks went to Al Harrington, but he was blocked in traffic when Brandon Bass leaned in to help. Jason Terry hit the dagger at the other end with nine seconds to play.

When they are trailing after three quarters, the Knicks are now 0-17.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We gave ourselves a chance to win. We've got to figure out how." -- Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, after his team went 0-for-3 with a turnover down the stretch of another close loss.

--F David Lee wasn't happy shooting just 65 percent from the line after the first month of the season. He pulled some video from last season and noticed he was in too much of a hurry. Slowing down and relaxing has resulted in noticeable improvement. Lee is shooting 82 percent since.

--F Danilo Gallinari is picking up the pace of his workouts, but he's still waiting to be cleared for contact. He scrimmaged one-on-one against Allan Houston, the assistant to Knicks president Donnie Walsh, on Wednesday at practice and hopes to be ready for all basketball related activity in two weeks. Gallinari is no longer on pain medication for his back problems.

--G Chris Duhon opened with the most productive half of his career on Thursday in Dallas, scoring 22 points. He went 9-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Duhon missed his first shot of the second half and wound up with 24 points.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--F Danilo Gallinari (back) is working out a little harder, but is still at least two weeks away from being cleared for contact.