Recap: Pacers 98 at Mavericks 87

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' loss to the Indiana Pacers Friday night at the American Airlines Center, where the defending champs dropped their second straight game despite a season-high scoring night from Dirk Nowitzki.

DALLAS — After falling to a 95-86 defeat while playing without three of their main contributors against the team with the NBA’s best record, the Dallas Mavericks returned to the hardwood looking to get back on track Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.

Hoping to bounce back after the Oklahoma City Thunder ended their three-game win streak, the Mavericks took to the court needing a victory before three straight games on the road. Enter the Pacers, who hadn’t won in Dallas before Friday night since January of 2004. Fortunately for the Mavs, they would have the services of starting center Brendan Haywood (lower back tightness) and newcomer Lamar Odom (stomach ailment) after the two missed the loss to the Thunder, despite playing without point guard Jason Kidd (strained right calf) for the fourth straight outing.

But even with two of the three stars returning to the lineup the Mavericks (14-10) weren’t able to right the ship, falling to the Pacers in a 98-87 defeat despite a season-high 30 points from leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki. And with the defeat, the Mavs dropped back-to-back home games for the first time since opening the season with losses to Miami and Denver.

“I’ve never liked big numbers in a loss,” Nowitzki said. “I’ve had 50 before and we lost, and it doesn’t mean anything. To me it’s good to know the leg strength is coming back, but like I said, it doesn’t mean anything in a loss.”

“This season is rife with ironies,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle explained. “The thing is we’ve just got to keep moving and we’ve got to keep working to help each other to get better. There’s going to be some frustration in games like this, but we’ve just got to keep our eye on the ball and keep concentrating on the fundamentals that are important for us; being solid on defense, not turning the ball over, stepping into shots, being aggressive. As it goes along, we’ll get better as a basketball team, but the last two games have been tough.”

The Mavs would get off to a quick start with Nowitzki shaking off his 2-for-15 shooting two nights prior and making all five of his shot attempts in the opening quarter. But Nowitzki’s former nemesis in New Orleans, Pacers forward David West, also got off to a fast start as the visiting team began the game making its first eight shots. Nowitzki would receive helping hands from his returning center inside and Odom when he subbed in off the bench, however, energizing the crowd on Haywood’s two-handed dunk despite being blindfolded by his own headband.

Still, despite an 11-4 run to close the final 5:17 of the quarter and Nowitzki’s 10 first-quarter points, the Mavs trailed 29-28 after one.

“Even last game I had some looks, stepped into them and just couldn’t knock them down. So, it felt good to get into a rhythm,” Nowitzki said of his quick start.

Nowitzki picked right back where he left off at with a three-point play to open the second period. And even after the 7-footer missed his first shot from 3-point range following six straight makes, he continued to fire, making a three the next time down the floor to put the Mavs up 36-29 after scoring the first eight points in the quarter.

Carlisle would soon be forced to call timeout, however, after the Pacers responded immediately with a 6-0 spurt. But the rest of the first half Nowitzki continued to be virtually flawless while new addition Vince Carter also began to assert himself, leading their team to a 53-52 edge at the break.

Finishing two quarters of play 9-of-11 for 20 points, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the slight advantage as they outshot the Pacers, 50 percent to 43.2 percent. The Mavs also held a 22-18 margin in the rebounding battle at the midway mark.

It wouldn’t take long for the Mavs to find themselves down on the scoreboard, though, as the third quarter began with Paul George leading a 7-0 spurt for the Pacers (16-6) to take the lead. Meanwhile, the Pacers changed their coverages on Nowitzki, taking the sharpshooter out of the game and slowing down the Mavs’ offensive attack.

“We go 10, 15 minutes without [Nowitzki] touching the ball. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense, but it’s something we’re gonna have to figure out without Jason Kidd, who’s usually good at figuring out who’s hot and who’s not,” reserve guard Jason Terry said. “We’re gonna have to figure out what we have to do to make sure people stay in rhythm. And I just think there was a stretch where we could have taken advantage of Dirk while he was on the floor and we didn’t do it tonight. That hurt us.”

“They switched the pick-and-roll coverage,” Nowitzki added. “They went to a short show, didn’t leave me as much and without Kidd out there directing the ball it’s hard.”

Suddenly the Mavs would find themselves down as much as 12 — with tempers heating up as Haywood and Dahntay Jones earned a double-technical foul call after a pushing match — before guard Delonte West’s 3-pointer beat the buzzer and cut Dallas’ deficit to 76-69 entering the fourth.

A much-needed 3-pointer by Terry got the Mavericks off to a nice start in the game’s final 12 minutes. But George’s end-to-end play would keep the Pacers in front, blocking Terry’s transition layup attempt at one end and hitting a three at the other side of the floor. On a career-best scoring night, George continued to torch the Dallas defense, hitting another 3-pointer and scoring on a breakaway layup to put the Pacers ahead 87-73.

That disadvantage would reach as much as 17 down the stretch as Nowitzki continued to do his best to muster up a comeback, including a circus and-1 shot in the game’s final minutes. But with the game no longer in doubt, Carlisle pulled his starters in preparation for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

In his best scoring effort of the season, Nowitzki finished 12-of-17 from the field and snatched down seven boards.

“Every day he’s moving better,” Carlisle said of his go-to player. “At some point, this kind of game was going to be a reality. It was great to see because he was doing everything; he was shooting the ball, he was driving the ball, rebounding. Overall, he was very active and very positive.”

“I felt good,” Nowitzki added. “I had strength in my legs coming back. I worked hard, obviously, the last couple of weeks and hard work always pays off. … I’m gonna keep working.”

Carter added 14 points in the first unit while Terry was the only other Mav in double figures with 10 points off the bench.

George led the Pacers with a career-high 30 points, falling just one shy of Reggie Miller’s franchise record for 3-pointers in a game with 7-of-11 shooting from deep. West added 20 points as four Pacers scored in double figures.

“[George] is a good player. We played a lot of zone tonight and we lost him a few times in the zone. He’s a good 3-point shooter. He made shots and there were other plays we made mistakes on. He had a big night and they had a lot of other guys who played well, too,” Carlisle concluded.

“I don’t know how you miss him,” Terry said after George’s big night. “I mean, how hot was he all night? There’s no excuse for it, unacceptable and, you know, we’ve gotta win the next game.”

Slightly outshooting the Mavs from the field, 42.5 percent to 42.2 percent, the Pacers also collected a 48-42 rebounding advantage while turning Dallas’ 16 turnovers into 21 points.

The Mavs now return to action with the second matchup of a back-to-back on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 6:30 p.m. CT.

“We’re gonna need everybody to contribute tomorrow and play a lot better than we did today,” Nowitzki said while looking ahead. “Set the tone defensively, I think that wasn’t good tonight at all. That’s not how we play, that’s not how we’ve been winning. … We’ve got a three-day break (after Saturday), which is the longest we’ve had this season. So, we definitely don’t want to go into that sitting on a three-game losing streak. We consider it a very big game tomorrow and that’s how we’ve gotta come out.”

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.