Dallas plays at Indiana tonight without Santi Aldama, Lively, Caleb Martin and Tarik Biberovic, all ruled out after Wednesday's 128-110 loss in Houston. The Pacers, 1-0 under Rick Carlisle, have holes of their own: T.J. McConnell and Johnny Furphy are out, and Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard are day-to-day.
The Second Quarter Sank It
Dallas scored 12 in the second quarter and Houston scored 38, with a 14-0 run that made it 70-38 at the half. The Rockets led by as many as 37. P.J. Washington finished -27 in 31 minutes and Max Christie went 1-for-7 from three. A team that can't survive one bad quarter can't afford a second one in Indiana.
Flagg Lives At The Line
Cooper Flagg scored 32 on 10-of-17 shooting, made 11 of 13 free throws and added three steals. That's what a star with the ball looks like: attack the rim, then collect at the line. His four turnovers have to come down. Marcus Sasser gave the second unit a real scorer, with 17 points and 4-of-5 shooting from deep.
Who Holds The Middle
Lively's estimated return is October 26 and Aldama's is tomorrow, so tonight's frontcourt minutes fall to Daniel Gafford and Moussa Cisse. Gafford was +9 in 22 minutes in Houston, the best mark on the team. The open question is whether Dusty May plays him past that number tonight with the Spurs coming in tomorrow. Indiana went 19-63 last season, so this is a game Dallas should win.
Who is out for the Mavericks against the Pacers?
Santi Aldama (knee), Lively (foot), Caleb Martin (thumb) and Tarik Biberovic (heel) are out. Jett Howard is day-to-day with a calf issue.
When will Lively return for the Mavericks?
His estimated return is October 26, when Dallas plays at Miami.
