by Raegan Walsh
In the first matchup between the two teams this season, Indiana (33-25) came up victorious at Gainbridge Fieldhouse when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks (33-24), 133-111, Sunday night.
A massive fourth quarter, where a 23-8 scoring run aided the Blue and Gold in taking as much as a 22-point lead, solidified the win for the Pacers and allowed them to snap a seven-game Dallas win streak. Indiana gained the lead at 6:58 in the second quarter and held on to it for the remainder of the game.
Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figures and were led by Myles Turner, who recorded 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Tyrese Haliburton recorded 17 points and 10 assists in recording his 33rd double-double of the year.
Andrew Nembhard added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Ben Sheppard came off the bench to record a career-high 15 points, going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Bennedict Mathurin also recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds to round out his third double-double of the season.
FIRST QUARTER
While Indiana struggled to convert in its first two possessions, Dallas sprung ahead to a 5-0 lead with two made buckets from Luka Doncic. It wouldn’t be until the 10:33 minute mark that Turner put the Pacers on the board for the first time with a successful three-point play.
Seconds later, Pascal Siakam swiped away the ball at halfcourt and completed a fastbreak layup to tie the score, 5-5. Another Doncic bucket gave the Mavericks the advantage once again, but the Pacers would not allow Dallas to remain too far out of range by keeping them within six or less points for the majority of the quarter.
Indiana put itself within three points of the lead when Jalen Smith picked up the rebound from a missed jumper by T.J. McConnell and dunked the ball at 4:02. Immediately after, Haliburton batted away the ball from Dallas, which was then found in the hands of Mathurin. Mathurin returned the ball back to the All-Star as he ran down the court and Haliburton completed the fastbreak dunk to put the Blue and Gold behind by one point, 24-23.
Indiana would tie the score twice in the remaining seconds of the quarter. To end the frame, McConnell spun around his defender at the top of the arc and hit a jump shot to tie the game, 32-32, going into the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
Indiana held on to its momentum found at the end of the first frame and extended a scoring run to 15-6 to start the second quarter. Indiana earned its first lead of the game at 11:37 when a jumper from McConnell put the Pacers ahead, 34-32. The Pacers would then shoot 9-of-11 from the floor in the minutes following.
A minute and a half after taking the lead, two back-to-back 3-pointers from Obi Toppin and Sheppard extended the Pacers lead to five points, 40-35, at 9:35. The Blue and Gold followed up these two plays with a 14-6 scoring run capped off with a Turner layup at 5:30.
Turner led the charge in the second quarter, totaling 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip.
After five lead changes in the half, a dunk from Turner at 6:58 gave the Pacers the advantage they would keep for the remainder of the half. The lead was extended to eight points two times in the half, once at 3:18 from a Haliburton layup, and again at 1:43 with two made free throws from Siakam.
The Pacers took a seven-point lead going into the half after a quarter of 61.9 percent (13-of-21) shooting from the court. Turner led the way with 15 first-half points, while Haliburton followed behind with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with seven assists.
THIRD QUARTER
The first seven minutes of the second half were owned by Turner and Siakam, who combined for the Pacers’ first 19 points and led Indiana in increasing its lead to as much as 11 points on one occasion.
Turner, who had 15 of Indiana’s first 19 points, got the second half scoring going for the Blue and Gold as he recorded two free throws and a 3-pointer to put Indiana ahead by 10 points, 72-62, at 10:45. At 9:17, Turner again gave the Pacers their largest lead of 11 points with two more made free throws.
Mathurin put himself on the board for the Pacers when his made layup turned into a three-point play, giving Indiana another 11-point advantage at 4:56. He then took over the offense, scoring Indiana’s next five points.
To close out the quarter, Nembhard found himself on a scoring run of his own as he totaled six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip in the remaining minute and a half of third-quarter play. Nembhard’s final made jumper put Indiana ahead by nine points going into the final frame, 100-91.
FOURTH QUARTER
Two buckets from McConnell jumpstarted Indiana’s fourth quarter. However, slowing down Dallas was a difficult task as the Mavericks brought a once 11-point lead down to four points in the first three minutes of the frame.
Coming out of a timeout, Sheppard drilled a 3-pointer to put Indiana back ahead by a comfortable seven points, 107-100. After Dallas responded to a Toppin 3-pointer directly after with a dunk, Sheppard once again hit a clutch 3-pointer to force a Dallas timeout as Indiana raced ahead to an 11-point lead, 113-102, at 7:01.
A step-back 3-pointer from Haliburton capped off a 16-4 scoring run at 5:35 and gave Indiana an 18-point lead, 120-102. After stealing the ball at the other end of the floor at 4:26, a layup from Haliburton extended the Pacers’ advantage to 20-points.
A no-look pass from Toppin found Isaiah Jackson for a slam dunk to solidify the win at 1:02. This play gave Indiana its largest lead of the night of 22 points.
For Dallas, Doncic led the visitors in the scoring column, recording 33 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. After scoring 25 points in the first half, Doncic was held to just eight points in the second.
Kyrie Irving followed behind with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and six rebounds, while Josh Green added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Inside the Numbers
Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring, led by Turner’s 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
Both Haliburton and Mathurin notched double-doubles in the matchup. Haliburton recorded 17 points and 10 assists, while Mathurin recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Sheppard led the bench in outscoring the Dallas reserves, 42-29.
Indiana recorded 12 steals on the night, with Haliburton leading the team with four steals and Mathurin following behind with three steals.
Indiana shot 55.9 percent (52-of-93) from the floor while holding Dallas to 47.1 percent (41-of-87).
The Pacers dished out 38 assists in comparison to Dallas’ 15 assists.
Indiana outrebounded the Mavericks, 46-38, and outscored them in the paint, 48-36.
You Can Quote Me On That
“The whole game for us was about our edge, our competitiveness. We wanted to be up the floor, making it difficult and our guys did virtually the whole game. We just wanted to stay aggressive and not look at the scoreboard, and just play the game, play our game.” -Head coach Rick Carlisle on team performance
“I just believe in those guys. They’ve been too important to us all year long. I just wanted to try to time out, and I said ‘we’re okay. Here’s what we gotta do.’ We got to get a couple of really good shots and we’re gonna make it harder on Kyrie. And they did exactly that. I’m proud of those guys. Otherwise, our starters were headed for a boatload of minutes. And this helps us a little bit for tomorrow night.” -Carlisle on keeping the second unit in when the Pacers lead was cut to four
“That means a lot. He brought us together and was just like, ‘We’re good. We’re fine. I trust you guys.’ The second unit came out and provided a bigger lead for the first unit to come in and close the game. It was cool that he trusted us like that. Just playing team basketball.” -Sheppard on Carlisle sticking with the second unit in the fourth quarter when the Mavericks cut the lead to four
“He rebounded tonight, very well again. He was putting pressure on the rim, both with rim runs and with rolls off pick-and-rolls. Tyrese is so good at hitting him at precisely the right moment that he’s able to cause a lot of damage in there. Cause a lot of problems.” -Carlisle on Turner
“It feels great honestly. Just contributing towards something bigger than myself. I think the biggest goal for all of us in here is to get to the playoffs, be a factor and make a run in the playoffs. Being a contributing factor to that is something that means a lot to me. I know it means a lot to the city so just continue to work hard and be the best version of myself.” -Turner on what it means to be playing meaningful games after the All-Star break again
“I thought Nembhard and Mathurin were both great… He made a couple of rebounds in traffic that were really big… And he made key shots at key times. Drew is the guy that everybody takes a little bit for granted… He does a lot of the dirty work. He has quietly gotten into a real offensive groove too.” -Carlisle on Nembhard and Mathurin
“For a young guy, he’s a very good system player and he stays in the process. He’s unphased by the moment. If it’s a good shot he takes it, and if not, he keeps it moving. Defensively, he does a good job with his length and with his feet. He’s been pretty good at avoiding fouls for a rookie. We need him.” -Carlisle on Sheppard
“I do think that he’s starting to come into his own a little bit. I think that the G League experience has helped him a lot in gaining confidence. We’re all always on him to just look at the rim. Sometimes he’s just playing at 150 miles an hour and he’s running up and down the floor, never even looks at the hoop.” -Haliburton on Sheppard
“The message has been clear, these last 24, 25 games whatever it is, what our goals are. We’ve got to take things one game at a time and we were able to come out with a win today.” -Turner on the team’s mindset
Stat of the Night
Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring, led by Turner’s 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Haliburton followed behind with 17 points, Nembhard added 15 points, Mathurin recorded 14 points, while Siakam and McConnell both contributed 12 points apiece. In addition, Sheppard recorded a career-high 15 points off the bench on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting clip from beyond the arc.
Noteworthy
- Indiana will face off with the Mavericks for the second and final time this season on March 5 in Dallas.
- Aaron Nesmith did not take to the floor tonight as he recovers from a right ankle sprain.
- Prior to the game, Indiana Hall of Famer and oldest living Harlem Globetrotter Hallie Bryant, revved up the crowd.
Up Next
The Pacers continue their four-game homestand by hosting Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 PM
Originally posted on pacers.com