Preview: Pacers (15-6) at Mavericks (14-9)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' Friday night matchup against the surging Indiana Pacers as the defending champs try to put Wednesday night's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder behind them.

DALLAS — Under the direction of second-year coach Frank Vogel, the Indiana Pacers have been one of the NBA’s most surprising squads during the 66-game shortened season.

Since taking over last season, Vogel has gotten the max effort from his Pacers team on a nightly basis. That effort has translated into wins for a playoff-contending team in the Eastern Conference as the Pacers, winners of three straight, try to return to relevance under the new coach. Friday night, however, Vogel and the Pacers (15-6) run into the defending champion Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center as the reigning titleholders look for a win on their home floor before three straight road games.

“[The Pacers] are now a championship-contending team,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of his former squad. "That team right now would be second place in the West with their record. I mean, they’re fourth in the East because there’s a lot of teams that have really good records in the East, but percentage-wise they’d be the second-best team in the West right now.”

“I really like the setup of Indiana’s team,” leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki added. “They’re physical, they’ve got a bunch of guys that bang and they play hard. So, it’s a tough challenge at home and we’ve got to be ready.”

While Nowitzki continues to round back into form after missing four games with a sore right knee, the Mavericks (14-9) play on without point guard Jason Kidd. The future Hall of Famer has missed three games due to a strained right calf and is once again expected to sit against the Pacers. But the Mavs are expected to have the services of starting center Brendan Haywood (lower back tightness) and Lamar Odom (stomach ailment) after the two big men were forced to sit out Wednesday night’s 95-86 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Both Odom and Haywood returned to the team for its Thursday practice. Now, the Mavs will try to bounce back with a very dangerous Pacers team in town after having their three-game win streak snapped by the Thunder.

With Nowitzki struggling to just 2-of-15 shooting, the Mavs were outshot by the Thunder, 40.7 percent to 35.7 percent. Dallas also hit just 8-of-38 from the field in the second half. Just 48 hours later, the Mavericks will try not to have a hangover from Wednesday night as they bid to get back into the win column before journeying away from Big D.

“It’s time to focus on Indiana right now. They’re already here,” forward Shawn Marion said. “So, that’s how it is, that’s how the NBA is. You can’t harp on one loss too long, because if you harp on that last loss you’re gonna lose the next one because you’re still thinking about the last one.”

“We all care and we all want to do our best. And sometimes we do our best and the ball doesn’t go in the basket. That’s one of the painful realities of this game. And when that happens you’ve gotta hope that you get enough stops to hang in, which we did [Wednesday night], but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Carlisle added.

Still, the Mavs have won seven straight home matchups against the Pacers since January of 2004. And with the Pacers 3-1 on the road against Western Conference opponents and 9-5 away from home overall this season, Carlisle and the Mavericks will take the court looking for an eighth straight W at home over the Indiana team while trying to improve upon a 9-4 mark at the American Airlines Center.

The Mavs return to action on the first night of a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.