Like many across the country this week, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson endured an awkward trip home. Brunson returned to the scene of his first NBA steps on Wednesday, as the Knicks engaged in the penultimate portion of a five-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

Knicks duo Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns explained what went wrong in the first half against the Mavericks.

An ugly first half put the New York Knicks in a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of en route to a 121-106 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on

So perfect, in fact, that the Knicks have systematically loaded the roster with Brunson’s friends and college teammates, completing the title-validated picture from his Wildcats years. And why wouldn’t you?

It was not that long ago Jalen Brunson called Dallas home. The Knicks’ star point guard spent his first four NBA seasons with the Mavericks, evolving from a valuable role player to a standout

Entering Wednesday, Karl-Anthony Towns was leading the Knicks in scoring at 26.3 points per game with Jalen Brunson right behind at 24.9.

The butterfly effect might've had nothing on The Wildcat effect for the New York Knicks. A foreboding 'what if' tale from Tim MacMahon of ESPN threatened to cha

The Knicks went 4-for-21 (19.0%) — including 0-for-8 from 3-point range — during the first quarter, after which they trailed, 28-15.

There’s something about this arena for Jalen Brunson. And it helps to have Karl-Anthony Towns as a teammate. A year after he dropped his first 50-bomb in Phoenix, Brunson pulled off his best performance of the young season with 36 points and 10 assists to bury the Suns in a 138-122 Wednesday cruise.