Plenty of good showed up for the Pacers in Dallas on Monday night, but none of it looks so good after the team was unable to hold off the Mavs when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, leaving the Pacers to bring home a 125-122 loss.
The leaves the Pacers 3-8 as they return to the Fieldhouse to face the Wizards on Wednesday night with the pending schedule to finish the month ramping up in difficulty. The Pacers appear submerged in the East, although even after Orlando won on Tuesday to bump the Pacers down to 12th in the East, they remain just two game behind 7th place Miami and two wins behind sixth place Toronto.
Of course, the messy Eastern Conference does no good for the Pacers if they don’t start at least winning as much as they are losing. It appeared the Pacers would return home with a spirit lifting 2-1 road trip after several players laid down a solid first half, lead by Pascal Siakam getting hot behind the arc to score 26 first-half points. The bench showed up to combine with 25 points in the half, as well. Quenton Jackson had 8 points and 4 assists in his 12 minutes and Kelly Oubre showed up strong with 7 points and some noticeably solid defense on Cooper Flagg.
About Cooper Flagg.
Flagg is 19 and he is a certified problem. After scoring 13 first-half points, Flagg would not be deterred by Oubre or anyone else in the second half, scoring 14 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, earning veteran star calls at winning time to frustrate the Pacers repeatedly while finishing with 43 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Kyrie Irving didn’t complement Flagg’s play with his own skillful offensive display to add 35 points to the Mavs’ winning effort. He too enjoyed a friendly whistle, most notably drawing a corner three foul on a strong, straight up contest by QJack.
The duo combined for 50 points in the second half, 26 of those points in the fourth quarter when they combined to make 11 of 11 free throws. The Mavs shot 20 free throws in the fourth quarter to the Pacers six.
Down three in the waning seconds, the whistle happy refs swallowed those whistles on the final play of the game when a long inbound pass to Siakam was knocked loose after Siakam was drilled in the air by a Dallas defender. The refs had nothing to say despite a vociferous protest from Rick Carlisle and Siakam.
Game over. Losing sucks.
The Pacers returned home where Jalen Slawson (who didn’t play in Dallas) and Kobe Brown played for the Noblesville Boom in their home opening win on Tuesday. Braden Smith addressed the crowd in his home town but did not play after starting and playing 10 minutes in Dallas. There should be an update on Tyrese Haliburton on Wednesday and with TJ McConnell still working through his hammy the backcourt remains in flux. All positive vibes for some positive news!!!
The Wizards are pretty healthy and the type of team that can win on any night with Trae Young and Anthony Davis teaming up with rookie top pick AJ Dybantsa. AD is always somewhat questionable to play but he is not on the injury report and they had a day off after losing to the Pistons on Monday.
The Pacers have yet to win a game at the Fieldhouse so far this season. Seem like it is past time to get that done, no?
Pacers vs. Wizards
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026 - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: DAZN
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -2.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Braden Smith, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac
Wizards: Trae Young, Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr, AJ Dybantsa, Anthony Davis
Injuries
Pacers: TJ McConnell (hamstring) - questionable, Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) - out, Johnny Furphy (knee) - out, Ben Sheppard (knee) - out
Wizards: Justin Champagne (foot) - out, Reece Beeckman (shoulder) - out, Tristan Vukcevic (hip) - out, Jamir Watkins (knee) - out