|
 Fresh off a drubbing by the Charlotte Bobcats, the Mavericks
bounced back Wednesday night to hand the Indiana Pacers their third
loss in 28 home games, 81-73.
"We limited mistakes," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were
able to make enough plays. We were able to get out of here alive."
Neither team shined offensively at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana
and Dallas each shot more than 10 percent below their season
averages.
Dallas, now 14-14 in road contests, went 30 of 84 (35.7 percent)
from the field, and Indiana connected on 27 of 84 (32.1 percent).
Guard Monta Ellis led the Mavericks (32-22) with 23 points on
7-of-18 shooting from the floor, 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
He also posted team highs with nine rebounds and six assists.
All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki added 14 points, sinking half of his
14 field-goal attempts.
"The defenses tonight were unbelievable," Nowitzki said. "We knew it
was going to be a physical battle.
"Last night (in Charlotte), they got whatever they wanted, and Coach
got on us pretty good this morning."
The Pacers' 73-point output was their lowest of the season.
Nowitzki played despite spraining his left ankle in Tuesday night's
game, and he showed few effects from the injury in his 34-plus
minutes of action.
However, it was Brandan Wright's 11 minutes that gave the Mavericks
a boost, and more important, the lead.
With 5:19 to play in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot-10 forward took
the pass from guard Shane Larkin and hit a jumper to put Dallas on
top 68-66.
The Mavericks stretched the margin to eight points with 3:47 minutes
to play after Nowitzki converted two free throws.
Wright, who tallied all of his seven points in the fourth, gave the
Mavericks a lead earlier in the fourth by hitting the second of two
free throws. He upped the lead to three on a dunk, with the assist
going to guard Vince Carter.
Carlisle said it was strictly a coach's decision to call on Wright
late in the game.
[to top of second column] |
The Pacers (40-12) clawed back from a seven-point, second quarter
deficit to take a five-point lead in the third. They then tried to
late re-enact that rally in the fourth, but to no avail.
Guard Lance Stephenson penetrated the Mavericks' defense for a
finger-roll layup with 2:06 to play to cut the lead to six. Indiana
forward Paul George drained a 3-pointer following a Pacers timeout
with 37.3 seconds to play, slicing the margin to 76-73.
The Mavericks sealed the game by shooting 5-for-6 from the
free-throw line in the closing seconds, with Ellis going 4-for-4.
Indiana had five players finish in double figures, led by point
guard George Hill, who scored 14 points. Stephenson and forward
Danny Granger added 13 apiece. Stephenson also pulled down 10
rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.
"They beat us at our game," Hill said. "You have to tip your hat to
them. They played well tonight, and we just didn't play good
enough."
Dallas outscored Indiana 21-11 in the fourth quarter.
Three technical fouls were issued in the first half, two against the
Pacers (Stephenson and forward David West), and one against the
Mavericks (guard Jose Calderon).
"We knew we needed to be aggressive, we knew we needed to be
physical," Carter said. "We knew the kind of game we were walking
into tonight."
Each team will have five days off for the All-Star break. The Pacers
play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, the same day Mavericks
face the visiting Miami Heat.
NOTES: Mavericks G Devin Harris sat out due to a right knee/ankle
injury. ... Dallas averaged 44.8 points in the paint during its
five-game winning streak, which was snapped Tuesday night against
Charlotte. During the same span, the Mavericks allowed just 32.4. In
the loss to the Bobcats, the Mavericks were outscored 60-42 in the
paint. Dallas bounced back Wednesday to top Indiana 32-22 on inside
points. ... The Pacers allow an NBA-low 35.1 points per game in the
paint. ... The Pacers swept the 2012-13 season series with the
Mavericks, 103-83 at home and 103-78 in Dallas. ... Mavericks coach
Rick Carlisle spent four seasons as the coach of the Pacers
(2003-2007), leading them to the Eastern Conference finals in 2004.
... Before Wednesday's loss, the Pacers were 8-0 in the second game
of a multi-game homestand.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
