Mavs' Defense Reaches New Low in Blowout Loss vs. Pacers
DALLAS — After losing 137-120 to the Indiana Pacers (35-28) on Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks (34-28) have dropped five of their last six games. Amid a tightly contested Western Conference standings race, the Mavs continue to rack up losses immediately coming off a seven-game winning streak.
Nine days prior, the Pacers defeated the Mavs 131-111 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, marking the end of Dallas' seven-game winning streak. Myles Turner led Indiana with 33 points, and the Pacers had 38 assists as a team. The Mavs were held to 15 assists while turning it over 15 times. A rematch was surely welcomed for Dallas.
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Luka Doncic had a dynamic performance, finishing with 39 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, joined by Kyrie Irving (23 points) and P.J. Washington (20 points) as players to reach the 20-point threshold for the Mavs. Daniel Gafford added 16 points and 10 rebounds. However, a teamwide struggle to defend was apparent.
It was another explosive offensive performance for the Pacers, with Tyrese Haliburton accounting for 11 of the team's 34 assists. There were eight double-figure scores for Indiana, including Turner (20 points), Haliburton (19 points), Bennedict Mathurin (19 points), Obi Toppin (14 points), Pascal Siakam (13 points), Ben Sheppard (12 points) and Andrew Nembhard (10 points).
The Mavs achieved a strong start, leading 15-9 before the Pacers called a timeout with 8:15 remaining in the first quarter. With Turner scoring 14 points in the opening period, Indiana quickly rallied back, even leading 32-26 with under two minutes left to play. While Dallas did tie it up at one point, Indiana led 35-32 at the end of the frame.
There was a clear focus to double Haliburton, who has struggled to score in his recent performances while living with Turner getting open looks out of pick-and-roll. Indiana frequently made Dallas pay for deploying such an approach.
Entering this game, the Mavs deployed the NBA's worst defense since the All-Star break. Somehow, it worsened, giving up 74 points before halftime, with Turner accounting for 20, with Mathurin scoring 14. Despite Doncic already recording 28 points, six rebounds, and three rebounds, Dallas trailed 74-70 at halftime.
The Pacers continued to get what they wanted offensively against a Mavs team that has been unable to string together defensive stops consistently for many weeks. Indiana pushed its lead to double figures (84-74) with under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.
After giving up a staggering 106 points through three quarters, the Mavs were down by an 18-point margin with only 12 minutes left to play. Dallas had frequently trailed by 15 or more points for much of the second half of the third period, with a frequent inability to string together defensive stops being apparent.
The game was practically decided after Siakam finished at the rim with 4:20 left in regulation, pushing the Pacers' lead to 131-112 over the Mavs. A timeout was quickly called by Dallas' bench, with much of the American Airlines Center crowd hitting the exits while others booed.
Next up, the Mavs will take on the Miami Heat on Thursday night, ending a three-game homestand before an Eastern Conference road trip starts.
