INDIANAPOLIS – In advance, coach Rick Carlisle praised his former team, saying the Mavericks are one of a small group of legitimate NBA title contenders.
Carlisle's Pacers then called it quits, ending Dallas' winning streak with a thud and seven, beating the Mavericks 29-11 in the final 8 minutes, 37 seconds to break through a four-point game and win 133-111 on Sunday. I got it. Gainbridge Field House.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving scored 33 and 29 points, respectively, but Dallas mostly slumped offensively with a season-low 15 assists. After Irving personally outscored Indiana 9-4 to start the fourth quarter and pulled the Mavericks within 104-100, the ball mysteriously stopped reaching him.
“When Kai gets into a situation like that, he has to touch the ball and make a decision,” coach Jason Kidd said.
Offense wasn't the only problem, as Dallas lost 33-24 to the Pacers, shooting 55.9 percent and allowing Euless Trinity's Myles Turner to score a season-high 33 points.
This four-game road trip and nine straight games against Eastern Conference teams got off to a bad start. Maybe Dallas was behind on subpar games, as they have been outscored by an average of 16.8 points over their last seven games and are 4-0 since the additions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. .
“We've got to understand that we're being chased right now and be able to handle the ball better,” Kidd said of the Mavericks' 15 turnovers, some of which were rally-killers. Ta. “When you win seven games in a row, you’re on the opposite side of the team you’re chasing, and the team is trying to win every possession.
“We have to understand that and deal with it better if we are to be one of the elite teams.”
Before the game, Carlisle praised the additions of Gafford and Washington and Doncic's MVP-level play.
“What Luka is doing this year, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Carlisle said. “He's making history with his goals and assists on baskets.
“And everyone else is playing great, too. I think they're in a very small group of teams that are really legitimate candidates.”
Carlisle, who coached Doncic in his first three NBA seasons, was asked Sunday if he expected Doncic, who averaged an NBA-best 34.3 points, to arrive.
“I don't know who didn't,” Carlisle said. “I think everyone has seen great things in him. I've been saying for the last few years that it's only a matter of time before he's MVP, Finals MVP, etc. Certainly this year, he's been in every conversation. I’m inside.”
In the first half Sunday, Doncic scored 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and certainly looked like an MVP candidate. But Dallas trailed 67-60 at halftime, and Doncic made just 2 of 8 shots the rest of the game. Turner scored 15 of Indiana's first 19 points of the second half.
Irving praised the Pacers for making strategic adjustments throughout the game and showing firepower across the lineup on an afternoon in which All-Star Tyrese Haliburton scored just 17 points and Pascal Siakam had 12 points.
“A lot of teams are going to come after us,” Irving said. “I see the media calling us legitimate candidates. I don't think now is the time to listen to that kind of noise.
“We have to prepare for what's coming. A lot of teams are going to play their best basketball, but this is going to be that test for us at the end of the season.”
With the loss, Dallas is one win away from winning eight straight games for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when the Mavericks won eight, 10, and 12 games in a row.
Of course, the coach that season was Carlisle, who had a 555-478 record in 13 seasons with Dallas. He said the footage of the Mavericks “smashing” their opponents this season shows elements of a team built for the playoffs.
“They've added size, skill, depth and toughness, putting them in a really good position heading into the stretch run,” he said. “They’re really, really deep.”
But this Sunday afternoon, the new Mavericks showed there are still plenty of issues to resolve before the stretch run gets to the heart of it.
In the meantime, as Irving said, they should do their best to ignore Carlisle and others' opinion that Dallas is a title contender.
Read more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
