The New York Knicks backdoored their way into their first road win of the season on Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, escaping thanks to a controversial offensive foul call late on the Mavericks. The Knicks did everything they could to lose this one, including missing several key free throws down the stretch, but ultimately, Dallas' injuries were enough to let them escape with the win.
At one point in the game, ESPN cameras showed Knicks head coach Mike Brown in the huddle talking to his team during a timeout, and some users were quick to make light of one specific direction he gave.
“Gotta string some stops together…Box out…Keep finding DLo,” said Brown, per New York Basketball on X, formerly Twitter.
“DLo” of course refers to Mavericks guard D'Angelo Russell, who has been known as something of an easy target on defense throughout his career.
“Lmaoooo, this is the blueprint to beat teams with DLo!!! I am sure Denver said the same thing in the conference finals,” wrote one fan in the comment section.
It should be noted that Russell had been torching the Knicks leading up to this timeout, so it's certainly possible that Brown meant to locate Russell when the Knicks were playing defense, as opposed to targeting him on the other end.
Still, that wasn't going to stop Knicks fans from making jokes.
“That’s actually hilarious,” wrote one fan.
A much-needed win for the Knicks
Whatever Mike Brown meant, the Knicks will certainly take the win, even if it wasn't exactly in convincing fashion against a putrid Mavericks team playing without its three best players.
The Knicks now sit at 9-5 on the season and are dealing with some injuries of their own, including to OG Anunoby, who missed the game in Dallas. It was also Jalen Brunson's first game back in the lineup after a brief absence, coming back to torch his former team in Dallas.
In any case, the Knicks now have a couple of days off before they next hit the floor against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
