Malcolm Brogdon, Pacers take down Mavericks

[March 27, 2021]    Malcolm Brogdon sank six 3-pointers to highlight a 22-point performance as the visiting Indiana Pacers posted a 109-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Domantas Sabonis recorded 22 points and 15 rebounds and Texas native Myles Turner had seven blocks for the Pacers, who have won four of their past five games. Indiana also avenged a 124-112 loss to the Mavericks on Jan. 20.

Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Richardson (0) shoots past Indiana Pacers forward Justin Holiday (8) during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas' Kristaps Porzingis collected 31 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds, with 15 and 13, respectively, coming in the first half. Porzingis' previous season high in rebounds was 14, set in the Mavericks' 115-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on March 10.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points off the bench and Josh Richardson added 11 for Dallas, which was unable to overcome the absence of two-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic (lower back tightness). It was not immediately known if Doncic would be able to play on Saturday when the Mavericks open a five-game road trip with a contest against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Dallas trimmed a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to four in the fourth after Jalen Brunson sank a pullup jumper. Indiana halted that momentum by igniting a 17-4 run, with Brogdon draining a pair of 3-pointers to push his team's lead to 101-84 with 4:40 remaining.

The Pacers made 20 of 47 shots (42.6 percent) from beyond the arc, including a sizzling 13 of 28 performance (46.4 percent) in the first half to help them secure a 61-48 lead at intermission. Doug McDermott went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc before exiting the game with a right ankle sprain.

Conversely, Dallas made just 4 of 21 attempts from 3-point range in the first half.

Porzingis, however, followed up three mid-range shots with a 3-pointer to trim Indiana's lead to 72-64 with 5:35 left in the third quarter. Dallas trimmed its deficit to six before Sabonis made a pair of shots from the interior and Jeremy Lamb added a floating jumper to double the advantage.

--Field Level Media

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