Mavericks
Mavericks Lead Wire to Wire, Bury Pacers in a 44-Point First Quarter
Dallas beat Indiana 121-105 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and never trailed. The Mavericks led 77-43 at halftime and held on after the Pacers won the last two quarters. Dallas is listed at 1-2 and 12th in the West. Indiana is 1-1 and 9th in the East.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 3 min ago01The story of the nightThe first half decided itDallas scored 44 in the first quarter.
Dallas scored 44 in the first quarter. Indiana scored 27. The Mavericks then won the second quarter 33-16 and went to the locker room up 77-43. The game had no lead changes. The Pacers never led at any point, and their biggest lead was 0. Dallas pushed its own lead to 37. Indiana did climb back some. It won the third quarter 33-21 and the fourth 29-23. But Dallas still led 98-76 after three, and the Pacers could not cut into a gap that large. The late runs made the final score look closer than the game was.
02Who carried the scoringKyrie Irving led Dallas with 24 points on 8/15 shooting.
Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 24 points on 8/15 shooting. He made 5 of 10 from three in just 24.9 minutes. P.J. Washington added 20 points and 13 rebounds. Max Christie scored 16 and Naji Marshall 15 off the bench, with 6 assists. Cooper Flagg had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and Dallas was 34.0 better with him on the floor. For Indiana, Pascal Siakam scored 23 on 8/13 but had 5 turnovers. Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and 7 assists on 8/17. Andrew Nembhard added 16 on 5/11.
03Where Dallas won itThe three-point line and the turnover column made the difference.
The three-point line and the turnover column made the difference. Dallas hit 14 of 34 from deep. Indiana hit 7 of 32. Dallas shot 50.0% overall to Indiana's 44.3%. The Pacers turned it over 19 times to Dallas's 14. The Mavericks scored 31 points off those turnovers, and Indiana scored 21 off Dallas's. Dallas had 10 steals and 11 blocks. Indiana had 6 of each. Indiana did win the paint, 60 to 54. The rebounding was nearly even at 53 for Indiana and 52 for Dallas. The Mavericks' bench outscored the Pacers' bench 43 to 37.
04What it meansDallas picked up a convincing road win.
Dallas picked up a convincing road win. It is listed at 1-2 and 12th in the West. The Mavericks got scoring from the starters, from the bench and from the three-point line, which is a good sign this early. Indiana is 1-1 and 9th in the East, and this loss was its first of the year by a wide margin. The Pacers lost the turnover battle and shot 7 of 32 from three. Ivica Zubac had 11 rebounds, but Indiana was 23.0 worse with him on the floor. The Pacers need cleaner ball handling and better shooting to avoid a repeat.
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