Josh Howard had career highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Dallas opened a 39-point halftime lead in a 123-94 demolition of the Knicks last night.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, all in the first half, and Michael Finley added 21 for the Mavericks in what was easily their most lopsided victory of the season.

The Knicks were loudly booed off the court at the end of the first half on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Isiah Thomas taking over as team president. Thomas watched the carnage unfold from his usual spot near the center court tunnel, sticking around until the final seconds.

It was a humiliating loss for a Knicks team that had won four of their previous five, worse in many ways than a 34-point defeat against Boston in the home opener that led to the firing of coach Lenny Wilkens’s top assistant, Dick Helm, the following day.

New York allowed Dallas to repeatedly score with ease on the inside, surrendering 100 points before the third quarter ended.

Howard, a second-year forward from Wake Forest, shot 7-for-17 from the field and 12-of-13 at the line with seven offensive rebounds and three steals. His previous career highs were 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Nazr Mohammed led New York with 14 points, but he set the tone for what turned into a dreadful night by firing up airballs on the Knicks’ first two possessions. A jump hook by Finley gave Dallas its first double-digit lead, 12-2, and the Mavericks made 13 of their first 17 attempts in opening a 31-17 lead.

The booing began in the second quarter when Howard gave the Mavericks their 10th and 11th second-chance points on a put back that made it 51-29. Kurt Thomas followed with an airball, and Nowitzki hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the lead up to 26.

The Mavs’ zone defense forced the Knicks to repeatedly throw up long jumpers, and Dallas often turned the ensuing long rebounds into fast breaks.

Howard dunked off a 3-on-1 break for the final points of the first half after Tim Thomas rushed up an ill-advised 3-pointer when the Knicks should have been holding for a last shot. The dunk made it 75-36 at the break.

The Mavs eventually went ahead by as many as 46 in defeating the Knicks for the seventh straight time and securing their fifth consecutive road win.

Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse missed his second straight game with a sore right hand. Stackhouse, Shawn Bradley, and injured center Didier Ilunga-Mbenga are the only members of the Dallas roster to have not been a starter this season.