Mavs Spoil Rick Carlisle Homecoming, Defeat Pacers
DALLAS- After bouncing back against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks earned their second win in a row on Saturday evening, defeating the Indiana Pacers 132-105 at the American Airlines Center.
Saturday night didn’t exactly go according to plan for Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who made his first return to Dallas since leading the Mavs for 13 straight seasons.
Big man Kristaps Porzingis had a strong start, scoring the Mavs’ first four points and allowing Dallas to take an early 14-6 lead. During the second quarter, however, Porzingis left the game due to right knee soreness.
Before the game, Carlisle mentioned that young star Luka Doncic can “hurt [his opponents] in multiple ways,' and that is exactly what happened.
Doncic continued his terrific play, torching the Pacers with 14 first-quarter points, including a few deep step-back threes and some dazzling assists.
Doncic finished the game with an impressive stat line of 30 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.
Said Carlisle of the Mavs: "That's a team that's got a real chance, not only to come out of the West, but they're a good contender."
Responded Dallas coach Jason Kidd: “It’s a great compliment to those guys in the locker room. It lets them know they’re doing the right thing, but we still have a long ways to go.”
The Mavericks also received key contributions from Maxi Kleber (15 points and 14 assists) and Reggie Bullock (23 points) off the bench.
For Indiana, it was Domantas Sabonis who led the team in scoring, putting up 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The Pacers were able to cut the deficit to 14 points late in the third quarter, but they couldn’t get quite enough stops for a second-half comeback.
Next up, the Mavs (29-21) will hit the road to face the struggling Orlando Magic (10-40) on Sunday at 6:00 PM CST. It'll be a chance for Doncic to keep rolling, as on Saturday he passed the 6,000-points mark for his career.
“That’s great,'' Doncic said. "Hopefully for more!”
