The Pacers continue to own this matchup with the Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks lost 134-127 to the Indiana Pacers Monday night in Dallas. Bedford native (Editor’s note: and Euless Trinity grad!) Myles Turner led the Pacers with 30 points and 11 rebounds while Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 34 points and 15 assists.
The Pacers came out firing and jumped out to a 15-2 lead on the strength of hot three-point shooting. The Mavericks spent the rest of the frame chipping into the lead bit by bit. Luka Doncic went to the line seven times in first and Naji Marshall scored 11 (including his first three of the season!) to pull Dallas back within three. The Pacers responded with back-to-back threes and led 36-29 after 12 minutes of action.
The game continued to be a comedy of defensive errors by both teams. Each team routinely left the ball and/or turned their back on the ball. These are both high level offenses which put defenses in a tough situation, but basic little dribblers players know not to turn their back on the ball.
The Mavericks pushed and took a lead, but the staggering 76 points in the paint the Pacers scored were simply too much to overcome.
Here are the things to know.
Naji Marshall broke out
There was a good deal of optimism about Marshall after his signing. He had struggled through the first few games, but he had a breakout game tonight. Marshall had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists while being 8-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from three and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
The Mavericks even outscored the Pacers by five points in his 34 minutes. The season is always more important than any one game and if this gets Marshall going, it is more important than the loss.
PJ Washington’s shot is busted
Washington was 0-of-5 on threes including an airball late. He was also 2-of-4 on free throws. Washington has too much talent to continue being this bad. The “yips” are a real thing though. It is important that Washington find his jumper before it gets in his head any more than it already is.
PJ Washington’s defense is amazing
I come not to bury Washington but to praise him. Washington deserves criticism for his jumper, but he is trying so hard at everything else. He chipped in another three blocks tonight and was essentially the only Maverick offering resistance on that end.
Hopefully with the emergence of Marshall, the Mavericks will be able to explore more minutes with Washington at center (at the expense of Daniel Gafford’s minutes, not Dereck Lively II). When Washington plays center with Marshall, the importance of his jumper is reduced because there is no other non-shooter on the floor.
Luka Doncic is taking care of the ball
Doncic has struggled relative to his elite standards early this season. Despite the incredible 34 point, 15 assist, seven rebound, two steal stat line tonight, he was still inefficient. He shot 9-of-24 from the floor.
He only had two turnovers though. This gives him 18 turnovers through seven games which is a miniscule number for someone who commands such an offensive burden. Doncic will be great at the other stuff on offense. The fewer turnovers could be a gamechanger once he gets everything else sorted out.
Overall, the Mavericks lost to a team that has historically given them problems on the second half of a back-to-back. These losses are frustrating, but they happen.
You can listen to our latest podcast episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Pocketcasts, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox.
You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick Podcast feed. Please subscribe, rate, and review.