Inside Report: Pacers-Mavericks preview — Streaking Mavs welcome in Pacers to Big D

Earl K. Sneed previews the Mavericks' matchup with the Pacers on Friday night, highlighting the play of sixth man Jason Terry and the free-agent signing of Corey Brewer.

DALLAS — Sixth man Jason Terry has proclaimed that the Mavericks’ bench is the best in basketball all season long. Tuesday night, Terry personally backed it up. Now, he’ll look to reinforce his point against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Leading the No. 2 bench-scoring team into Philadelphia to face the top squad in points from its reserves, Terry put on an aerial display with his lights-out shooting, tallying a season-high 30 points to lead the Mavericks (44-16) to a 101-93 victory over the 76ers. It was the Mavericks’ seventh straight win overall and 17th in an 18-game stretch, culminating a 3-0 road trip with a 54-30 scoring advantage in the battle of the benches.

“All season long I’ve been telling everybody we’re the best bench in basketball,” Terry said after the win. “Obviously, what [the Sixers] do offensively, they were No. 1. We came out and we did what we do. Pretty soon they’re gonna talk about us.”

“(Bench play) is one of the keys to how well we’ve played in the last three or fours weeks. So, the bench battle is gonna be a key battle for us every night, because we rely heavily on our guys and we need to have balance,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added.

Meanwhile, Terry’s scoring outburst was just the latest big-game performance for the presumed frontrunner for what would be his second Sixth Man of the Year award, although this time Terry didn’t just save his theatrics for the fourth quarter like teammates and Mavericks fans have grown accustom to this season.

“That’s what [Terry] does,” point guard Jason Kidd said after recording his107th career triple-double in the game against the Sixers. “He’s a guy that can put points up in a hurry, and he did that again off the bench. We expect that from our bench and they delivered.”

The bench appears to have become even deeper after the Mavericks signed free-agent swingman Corey Brewer to a reported multi-year contract on Thursday.

Brewer played 56 games this season for Minnesota, averaging 8.6 points and 2.7 rebounds, before being shipped to New York in the three-team Carmelo Anthony exchange that included 12 players. The No. 7 pick in the 2007 draft then received a buyout, signing with the Mavs shortly after clearing waivers. But his status for Friday night’s contest is uncertain.

“He’s a different kind of player than we have — different body type,” Carlisle said of the 6-foot-9 Brewer. “He’s a wing player that is long, athletic and very fast. Everyone is aware that he was a top pick a couple of years ago in the draft. He played on two national championship teams, so he knows how to win. There were other teams that offered him more money to come to them, but I think he looked at our situation and he likes what our team looks like. He’s got an opportunity to help us this year, and this is one of those situations where at this point if we can get a guy who can help us situational or if he ends up playing more, if he can help us get one stop at the right time then it’s a good move for us.”

Brewer also has the full support of Terry and the Mavericks’ veteran leadership, even despite the fact that it was the team’s new addition who threw an inadvertent elbow, breaking Terry’s orbital bone and forcing the star reserve to require facial surgery exactly a year prior to the day of Brewer’s signing.

“He didn’t do it intentionally, so it’s all good,” Terry said. “This kid is a good kid who works hard, and obviously us veterans will rub off on him. And he’ll get the sense of what he’s walking into once he walks through the door.”

“I think he’s gonna fit in nice,” leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki added. “He’s a hard worker as far as I’ve heard. He’s a good guy, and that’s what we always look for. He’s gonna fit in the locker room and we’re gonna make him feel welcomed … We’re gonna try to make it as easy as we can on him.”

But now Terry and the rest of the Mavericks’ second and third-teamers may be called upon even more when the team returns to Dallas for Friday night’s bout, while center Tyson Chandler sits after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter of the win in Philly.

According to Carlisle, the 7-foot-1 big man will miss at least two games due to the injury. That means the reigning Western Conference Coach of the Month will have to rely on the play of centers Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi until the athletic Chandler can return. But even Terry admits that the team will be without its vocal leader, adding that Chandler’s communication and on-the-court motivation will be missed.

“Missing Tyson is not only on the court but it’s his emotional spirit. If something happens in the game you always hear Tyson, ‘Come on, man, let’s get it together.’ You always hear his voice. So, hopefully he’ll still be on the bench,” Terry explained. ”Not hearing his voice, it’s gonna be a tough adjustment, but Mahinmi and Brendan Haywood are up to the task and they’re gonna get the job down.”

The two reserve big men will get their opportunities to prove Terry’s season-long proclamation is true when the squad seeks retribution against the Pacers (27-33), as the Mavericks look to avenge a 102-89 road loss on Jan. 12.

Note: The team will return to Dallas and host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, looking to split the season series. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT, airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Great seats are still available and tickets can be purchased by visiting the American Airlines Center box office, logging on to Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287).

Stay connected with Dallas Mavericks inside reporter Earl K. Sneed by clicking "like" on his Facebook page or by following him on Twitter. Got a question for EKS? Send your question, along with your first name, last initial, city and state with the subject line "Ask EKS" to askeks@dallasmavs.com, and you could be published on Mavsfastbreak.com, the Mavericks' new official blog site.

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