Pacers team up to slow down Mavs

The Pacers ended the Mavs' seven-game winning streak thanks to big plays by several players.

Photo: @Pacers

The Pacers secured a quality win over the Mavericks on Sunday night, absorbing whatever Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving could throw at them, before running away with a 133-111 win.

The Mavs stars had their moments, but the Pacers made them work for their rewards with Andrew Nembhard playing a huge role defensively, staying grounded and not giving any ground to the superstars. Their buckets were earned, not given and while Doncic finished with 33 points and Kyrie with 29, Dallas didn’t have enough fire power for the Pacers in this one.

While Nembhard started on Kyrie and moved over to Luka for much of the game, Benn Mathurin took the ‘other’ star and his effort was critical, even if he wasn’t as solid on the ball as Nembhard. Mathurin attacked the glass, rebounding in traffic several times to finish the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Just a tough effort all around in what can be an otherwise frustrating matchup with those elite offensive threats on the other side.

Again, this was a team effort, an ‘our depth is better than your depth’ win for the Pacers. From the starters to the bench, there were other key players in the win.

Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 10 assists along with 4 steals, which seems ho hum for the Pacers All-Star, but he also only played 31 minutes. Among Hali’s highlights was a full-court assist to Turner off a steal, followed by a steal and one-dribble transition layup on the next possession. Two buckets for the Pacers, one dribble.

Turner was as critical to the win as the defense to minimize the damage by Luka and Kyrie. Myles scored a season high, 33 points delivering bucket from behind the arc and at the rim, but also added several midrange makes that the Mavs were willing to allow which altered the game in both halves.

But, alas, I must save my favorite key impact player for last. Of course, my guy, Ben Sheppard. I’ve been espousing the potential impact Shep can have once he gets comfy and his shot slows down. Welp, he was all kinds of comfy in the Fieldhouse on Sunday, making all five of his 3-ball attempts while still scrambling around the court on defense.

None of those threes was bigger than when the Pacers came out of a timeout after the Mavs cut the Pacers lead to four at 104-100 early in the fourth quarter. The reserve unit was in and having to deal with Kyrie Irving on an absolute heater. Rick Carlisle resisted the urge to add a few starters for extra minutes (a risk in a back-to-back situation), and stuck with the reserve group. Out of the timeout, Shep drilled a three. Then Obi Toppin splashed a three. After the Mavs scored at the rim, Shep hit another three.

That 9-2 run put the Pacers back in control and then the starters returned to push the run to 16-2, knocking out the Mavs for good.

The Mavs had won their last seven games and showed up ready to move that to streak to eight. The Pacers simply denied the Mavs at every turn, leaning on their depth to outlast the top heavy opponent. The Pacers’ bench scored 42 points, lead as usual by TJ McConnell with 12 points and 7 assists.

That depth helped the Pacers manage their minutes with the Raptors in town on Monday night. Nembhard and Mathurin did the heavy lifting with 33 minutes each while tracking the Mavs’ stars all night. But the quality win should give everyone in the blue and gold a mental boost to not let down against Toronto.

With Orlando and Philly losing on Sunday, the Pacers are in sixth place in the East, just a half game out of fifth place. No time to relax or play down to any opponent even if the winning recipe won’t be the same every night.

Game Details

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

When: Sunday, Feb. 26, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: Bally Sports

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers -6

Projected Starters

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Raptors: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl

Injuries

Pacers: Aaron Nesmith (lower leg)- out, Jalen Smith (back) - questionable

Raptors: None