updated 9:16 a.m. ET Oct. 17, 2005

NEW YORK - DeSagana Diop’s buzzer-beating tip-in lifted the Dallas Mavericks over New York 104-102 Sunday night, spoiling Knicks coach Larry Brown’s home preseason debut.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and Josh Howard added 16 for the Mavericks (2-1), who squandered a 16-point lead in the second half.

David Lee had 17 points to lead New York and fellow rookie Nate Robinson added 13, including the tying free throws with 7.1 seconds left. Rookie Channing Frye scored 11 points, and Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury and Trevor Ariza added 10 apiece.

Brown, who received a nice applause when he stepped on the court before the game, said he wasn’t distracted in his first time coaching the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“I realize where I am and know what it means,” he said. “I’m sure that’ll kick in when we play our first (regular season) game.”

The Mavericks shot 53 percent from the field. Nowitzki was 7-for-13 in 28 minutes, and Howard was 8-for-13 in 26.

The Knicks (1-1) went on a 13-5 run over the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, capped by Frye’s jumper, to cut their deficit to 90-88.

“It was great watching the kids come back,” Brown said. “We had a chance to send it into overtime. Diop made a great play. I was thrilled with the way they competed. They got valuable experience in a close game.”

Former Knick Keith Van Horn then hit a 3-pointer for the Mavericks to push their lead back up to five. Marquis Daniels hit a jumper with 2:21 left to give Dallas a 101-94 lead.

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Dallas scored six straight points to start the third quarter, stretching a four-point halftime lead to 67-57 with 8:58 remaining.

Howard then scored 10 points over the next 6½ minutes to push the advantage to 16.

New York then went on an 8-0 run, including three free throws and a fastbreak layup by Robinson to cut the deficit to 81-73 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.

Nowitzki scored 17 points in the first half and the Mavericks shot 61 percent from the field to take a 61-57 lead at the break.

Notes: Brown received a technical with 1:07 left in the third quarter. ... New Knicks F Antonio Davis (personal reasons) was not with the team, and G Allan Houston (left knee) did not play. ... G-F Jerry Stackhouse (right knee) missed his second straight game for the Mavericks, and C Pavel Podkolzin (toe) was not with the team. ... Dallas played the third of four road games to open the preseason. The Mavericks visit Detroit on Tuesday before hosting the Knicks on Friday in the start of a stretch of four home games. Dallas then opens the regular season with two road games.

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