Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Knicks forward Jared Jeffries shoots over Mavs forward Drew Gooden during Dallas' 128-78 victory Sunday.

“We ran a play with J.J. and he got to the basket three times the exact way and nobody came over to help on him,” Gooden said, “and I think that was a sign of them kind of not laying down, but they just didn’t know what to do and we took advantage of that.”

Kidd left the team following Friday’s 92-81 loss in Philadelphia to return to Dallas, with owner Mark Cuban saying it was for a family reason. Erick Dampier was inactive with a left knee injury but was easily replaced by Gooden, who badly outplayed Knicks All-Star hopeful David Lee.

Lee finished with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Knicks lost for the sixth time in eight games. It was the Knicks’ worst home loss, and trailed only their 162-100 loss at Syracuse on Dec. 25, 1960, for most lopsided in franchise history.

“We’re a better team than this,” said Jeffries, who had 14 points to lead the team in scoring for the first time in his four seasons in New York. “We’ve got to come out, give effort and have a little fight. We just didn’t have it.”

Dallas led 27-25 after one, with the Knicks staying close behind 12 points from Jeffries, the best quarter of his career. It was a six-point game midway through the second before Beaubois made two 3s and Nowitzki knocked down a jumper for his only field goal of the half to make it 50-36 with 3:15 left.

Dallas made eight of its first 11 attempts — the Knicks started 1 of 11— from behind the arc, including Terry’s that increased the lead to 17 with 1:20 remaining in the half. The Mavs led 59-43 at the break.

NOTES: The Knicks’ last win over Dallas was Jan. 11, 2006. ... Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has a chance to coach the Western Conference in the All-Star game in Dallas. The coaches of the teams with the best records in each conference through next Sunday’s games earn the right, and with the Lakers’ Phil Jackson ineligible because he coached last year, Carlisle entered Sunday a game behind Denver’s George Karl. ... Jeffries hadn’t had a double-digit quarter since scoring 11 points in the first period against Milwaukee on April 12, 2006, according to STATS LLC. ... Knicks starting point guard Chris Duhon came in 4 of 33 from the field the previous six games, then missed his first four attempts.

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