by Jordan Morey
On the final leg of a three-game road trip, the Indiana Pacers flexed their depth and league-leading offense to get back to victory lane.
After dropping back-to-back games where they scored 105 points or fewer, the Pacers (35-28) refound their form in a 137-120 Tuesday win over the Dallas Mavericks (34-28) at American Airlines Center.
A season-best nine players scored in double digits for the Pacers in the win, including five players off the bench. Indiana’s reserves outscored Dallas’ second unit 69-32.
After a tight first half, the Pacers turned a four-point intermission lead into a double-digit advantage in the third quarter thanks to a 20-6 run to start the frame. Down 106-88 to start the fourth quarter, the Mavs never made it a single-digit game before the final buzzer.
Prior to Tuesday’s win, the Pacers and Mavericks had split their season series in each of the last five seasons. The victory marked the Pacers’ first sweep over the Mavs since the 2016-2017 season.
“We were due to play better,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “The last couple games have been tough, but the team made some very good adjustments for this game. We were able to play faster, more aggressively and move the ball better. Those things helped us very much. It’s an important win for us against a very, very good team.”
The Pacers shot 53.8 percent from the field, including 18 made 3-pointers, to the Mavs’ 48.4 percent.
Myles Turner, who grew up in nearby Bedford, Texas, led the Pacers with 20 points, while Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton posted 19 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds, and second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 off the bench. Pascal Siakam also posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue & Gold.
Luka Doncic, averaging a league-best 34.5 points per game, recorded a fourth straight triple-double by posting 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the loss. Just Russell Westbrook (five straight, 2017) and Oscar Robertson (four straight, 1961) have recorded four straight triple-doubles or more with at least 30 points in league history.
After Doncic, Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, P.J. Washington added 23, and Daniel Gafford logged 16 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, which featured seven lead changes, the Pacers shot 60 percent to lead 74-70.
Turner came out on fire for the Blue and Gold, tallying 20 points in 14 minutes while Mathurin supplied 14 points off the bench. Doncic had 28 points (11-for-17 shooting), six assists and three rebounds at the break and Washington had 15 points.
FIRST QUARTER
Turner went to work right away for the Pacers, recording 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first quarter to help the Pacers to a 35-32 lead.
The Mavericks made six of their first seven shots following the tip, with Doncic, Irving and Washington each recording five points, to lead 15-9 and force a Pacers timeout just under four minutes into the game.
Out of a huddle, the Pacers responded with a 10-2 run – anchored by a trio of baskets and two free throws by Turner – to take a 21-19 lead with 5:33 on the clock. The teams traded the lead four times before each side strung together 6-0 runs to re-tie the game at 32.
A 3-pointer by Pacers guard T.J. McConnell with 35 ticks on the clock helped keep the visitors ahead by a possession.
SECOND QUARTER
In the second quarter, Mathurin carried the offensive load for the visitors, recording 14 points to help the Blue and Gold stay ahead by four points despite a 19-point performance by Doncic in the period.
Despite a solid start to the second quarter for the Pacers, Doncic scored eight straight points for the Mavericks before a dunk and layup by Josh Green tied the game at 44 with 8:33 on the clock.
Neither team could build more than a five-point lead for the next six minutes until Turner scored three straight baskets and Mathurin added another to put the Pacers ahead 74-65 with 1:08 left in the half.
In the final 44 seconds of the half, Washington nailed a 3-pointer, and Irving sank two free throws to make it a four-point game.
THIRD QUARTER
Haliburton found his shooting stroke in the third quarter, scoring 12 of the Pacers’ points, and Doncic slightly cooled off in the the period, with six points, as the Blue & Gold propelled themselves to a 106-88 lead. The 18 points scored by the Mavericks in the third quarter matched a season-low by a Pacers opponent in the frame.
Out of intermission, the Pacers strung together a 16-4 run – on 10 points by Haliburton, including two 3-pointers – to lead 89-74 just over four minutes into the second half before an and-one from Siakam extended the advantage to 93-76.
The closest the Mavs got to the lead in the remainder of the third quarter was 13 points, and in the final 1:44 of the frame the Pacers closed it on a 7-2 run — punctuated by a 3-pointer by Obi Toppin.
FOURTH QUARTER
While the Mavs kept their starters on the floor to start the fourth quarter, the Pacers’ bench remained in and played strong.
Irving hit two 3-pointers and Doncic completed an an-one early in the final frame, but Sheppard, McConnell and Mathurin all hit 3-pointers and Toppin got two baskets to fall to keep the Pacers ahead 121-101 with 8:14 left in the game.
Down the final stretch, the Pacers didn’t let off the gas as they snapped the two-game spell.
The Pacers return home Thursday to host the Western Conference first-place Minnesota Timberwolves (43-19).
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers are 1-0 when nine or more players score in double figures and 5-0 when eight or more accomplish the feat.
Indiana shot 10 free throws in the first quarter. The Pacers have only shot double-digit free throws in the first quarter three times this season.
Tyrese Haliburton has recorded 35 double-doubles this season and Pascal Siakam now has four since joining Indiana in a mid-season trade (nine overall counting his time with Toronto).
Luka Doncic has scored 30 or more points in seven straight games for Dallas.
Pascal Siakam matched a season-high 13 rebounds.
Ben Sheppard pulled down a career-best seven rebounds.
Both teams secured the ball well, with the Pacers giving up eight turnovers and the Mavs finishing with nine.
Indiana won the rebounding margin 43-41.
The Pacers had 34 assists in the game and Dallas dished out 23.
You Can Quote Me On That
“I thought Tyrese had a spectacular game. His stats aren’t spectacular by his standards, but his floor leadership and the way he led the team tonight was really tremendous and important.” — Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Tyrese Haliburton
“This is a hard place to win.” — Carlisle on playing in Dallas
“We needed it. The bench was great. Obi and Shepp are our two best runners. They’re our two best runners and ball movers, and that’s why they went in the game first. We needed speed. We needed guys getting to the corners and then making the right reads and movement from there. Both those guys did a great job. It allowed us to give Pascal (Siakam) two rests per half and I love the way he worked his way. into the game. It wasn’t happening for him offensively right away, but he stayed patient and int the second half he had high impact.” — Carlisle on the bench and Siakam
“Everyone needs to keep giving and sacrificing for the team. Tonight is a good example for how important it is to give.” — Carlisle on the win
“It’s impossible to guard Luka. The guy gets any shot he wants, any time he wants. He’s a great, great player who is rewriting history with what he’s doing. The important thing is you’ve got to read the game and not look at his stats. If you look at his stats, you can go crazy trying to figure out how to stop him.” — Carlisle on Doncic
Stat of the Night
Nine players scored 10 or more points for the Pacers on Tuesday in Dallas. It’s the first time the team has accomplished the feat since 2018.
Noteworthy
- Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle served as the head coach of Dallas for 13 seasons, where he guided the Mavericks to the playoffs nine times, including the franchise’s first NBA title in 2011. Carlisle is the winningest coach in Mavericks history (555-478).
- Rookie Ben Sheppard returned on Tuesday after missing two games due to illness. He posted a career-best seven rebounds to go along with 12 points (4-for-6 3-point) across 22 minutes of action on the floor.
- Doug McDermott has missed the last four games for the Pacers due to a calf strain.
Up Next
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, March 7 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com