Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Mavericks 78

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Game Rewind: IND 103, DAL 78

The Pacers and Dallas Mavericks were locked up at 41 after two quarters. Then, the Pacers poured it on, shot 58 percent, went on two huge runs, and ran the Mavericks out of their own gym. Doing their best Texas two-step, the Pacers beat Houston on Wednesday and followed that up with a dominating 103-78 win in Dallas.

Following intermission, the Pacers (46-27) scored 20 of the first 25 points in the half. Later, the Mavericks (35-37) got within 10 after a 9-2 start to the fourth, but the Pacers rattled off 14 in a row to seal the road win, their 17th of the season.

So how’d Indiana get it done? In a variety of ways.

They hit 13 of their first 15 field goals in the third and shot 58 percent in the second half. They got to the foul line 26 times, though they only made 16. (Roy Hibbert, in fact, toed the line on four consecutive possessions.) They were physical, aggressive, and outworked the Mavericks.

Paul George scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter and the Pacers doubled-up the Mavs, 34-17, in the quarter. Four other Pacers scored in double figures.

The Pacers’ biggest lead in the first half was nine, before the Mavericks started chipping away. Former Pacers player Darren Collison, who was sent to Dallas with Dahntay Jones for Ian Mahinmi last July, scored nine in the second. Along with Shawn Marion, the Mavs went on an 8-2 spurt and later traded the lead three times with the Pacers. Mahinmi’s layup knotted the game up at 41 at half.

Despite six first quarter turnovers, the Pacers quickly got up seven by way of an 11-2 run, with seven points coming from George. The Pacers got after the boards and had just as many offensive rebounds as the Mavericks had total rebounds in the first. Dirk Nowitzki had eight points, and if not for him, the Mavericks shot 4-of-17, but trailed by just five after one.

Not only did the Pacers win another tough away game--on back-to-back nights, nonetheless--but they also didn’t get complacent with their lead. Instead, they kept adding to it.

The Pacers have now won six of their last seven games heading into their matchup on Saturday against Phoenix, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

With 24 points, Paul George scored in double figures for the 21st straight game. Roy Hibbert recorded his fourth consecutive double-double: 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tyler Hansbrough added 13 points and rookie Orlando Johnson chipped in 12, his fourth game this season in double figures.

Forward Dirk Nowitzki, who didn’t play in their first meeting this season, paced the Mavs with 21 points and seven rebounds. Vince Carter had 14 and former Pacers player Darren Collison finished with 10 points, eight assists.

Entering the game, Dallas had shot at least 40 percent in 31 straight games. The Pacers ended that streak, holding them to 39 percent.

The Pacers dominated the inside play, out-rebounding the Mavericks by 21 and outscoring them by 16 in the paint.

With the win, the Pacers improved to 14-7 on the second night of back-to-back games, their 21st set of the season. They are also 14-1 when holding an opponent under 80 points.

“I was very, very pleased with the win. In particular, our defensive effort seemingly keeps getting better and better. I’m very impressed with how dialed in our guys are, and how disciplined they’re playing on the defensive end. We moved the ball pretty well in the second half, better than the first half offensively. Paul George played like an All Star.” – Frank Vogel

“It started with getting stops. We were able to get out, and when you attack before the defense is set, you usually get better looks. I thought Paul George made some great passes in that quarter to find guys open and then when they stayed home on shooters, he attacked and scored. I thought it was mostly about Paul, but a lot of guys contributed. It’s all about our defense really.” – Frank Vogel on their big third quarter

“At halftime we pride ourselves with coming in and making adjustments. When we have opportunities to expand the lead, we rely on our defense, especially in the third quarter. We try to execute the adjustments we see on film from the first half.” – David West

“We weren’t making the right plays, then we talked it through and then had a real good quarter. The emphasis at the timeout at the beginning of the fourth was to come out and be aggressive.” – Roy Hibbert on their second half adjustments

The Pacers outscored the Mavericks 62-37 in the second half and shot 58 percent from the field.

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