Nowitzki, Mavs hold off Porzingis comeback to beat Knicks

NEW YORK - Dirk Nowitzki got to see why people compare Kristaps Porzingis to him, and the rookie almost ruined the view.

Porzingis led a fourth-quarter charge and finished with 28 points, but the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 104-97 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

Nowitzki scored 25 points after a strong start, then offered some encouragement to Porzingis after the Mavs walked off with a victory that seemed would be much easier than it ended up.

''The comparisons are more than fair,'' Nowitzki said. ''He's way ahead of the curve. When I was 20 I was scared to death out there. He's almost averaging a double-double out there. He's better than I was in my 20s, so the comparison is probably unfair to him. He's a complete package.''

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The Latvian rookie made consecutive 3-pointers as the Knicks cut what had been a 23-point deficit to 101-97 with 43 seconds left, then blocked Deron Williams' shot. But Carmelo Anthony was called for an offensive foul as the Knicks were trying to work to get the ball to Porzingis for another shot, and Nowitzki followed with a free throw before Williams made two more to close it out.

''Dirk loves these types of situations, taking the challenge of a young guy like this, and Porzingis is a special player,'' Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

Anthony had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but shot 6 for 18 from the field and also picked up a technical foul in the fourth quarter.

The 7-foot-3 Porzingis grabbed just two rebounds but held his own offensively against Nowitzki, the top international scorer in NBA history. But Nowitzki was surrounded by much more firepower Monday even without a big night from Wesley Matthews, who scored 36 points on a franchise record-tying 10 3-pointers in Sunday's victory.