The last time the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers faced each other, the Pacers pulled out the upset and ended the Mavs win streak.
On Tuesday, the teams will rematch with plenty on the line and a bit of a grudge to settle. Sports Illustrated reported that the blow-out loss last Sunday “shed light on the Mavs’ biggest flaw,” Tim Hardoway, Jr. who had a terrible game.
“We just couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” Head Coach Jason Kidd said after the game. “We had a couple of bad shots that took away some of the energy. We’ll learn from it. We’ll watch this, and we’ll get better tomorrow.”
While Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic had above-average performances in the game, multiple turnovers late in the game and missed shots by Hardoway took a game the Mavs had closed to within four points in the fourth and let the Pacers run away with the victory.
“Hardaway has been a key piece for this Mavs roster for multiple years now, and he can still be that, but Kidd must be willing to pull the plug on nights where he simply doesn’t have it in order to give Dallas its best chance of winning,” SI wrote after Sunday’s loss.
Despite Doncic recording three consecutive triple-doubles, the Mavs have lost four of the last five games and dropped from the seventh seed to eighth. Similarly, the Pacers have just one win in the last four games.
To make matters worse for Dallas, Doncic is continuing to deal with an ankle sprain and is officially listed as questionable. without Doncic, the Mavs are a different team. Doncic is averaging 34.5 points per game this season and has stepped up his rebounding skills which was a major focus in the off-season.
The Mavs defense will need to improve significantly over recent performances to fend off the Pacers.
“Offensively they are one of the best,” Kidd said of the Pacers as reported by Yardbarker. “(Tyrese) Haliburton is playing at a high level, (Myles) Turner is playing well. Again, the transition defense is going to be tested. Our defense will be tested.”
Haliburton has struggled in recent games, getting blanked just four days ago against the New Orleans Pelicans on 13 shots. He has also gone 0-6 on three-pointers in back-to-back games this week.
The Mavs come in with a 34-27 record and were leapfrogged by the Sacramento Kings earlier in the week. With the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors both chomping at the bit to climb up the standings, a loss to the Pacers could be a devastating blow to the Mavs.
The Pacers are in very similar straights, sitting at 34-28, but with a little more cushion over the ninth-place Chicago Bulls. SI writes that the team to emerge victorious on Tuesday will be the team more desperate to keep pace in their respective divisions.
Sportsbook Wire predicts a Mavs win 124-118 with a lean over at 246.5 based on poor defensive showings for both teams in recent games.
The Mavs face the Pacers at 7:30 p.m. CT.
