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Game Rewind: Pacers 104, Mavericks 99

Game Recap

C.J. Miles got the Pacers off to the fast start they needed on Sunday. He also provided Indiana (32-41) with the finishing blow to knock off the Dallas Mavericks (45-29) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 104-99.

Miles, who scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting, made some huge plays down the stretch on Sunday. The veteran guard scored the Pacers' final five points and drew a crucial charge on Chandler Parsons in the final minute to help seal the victory.

"We’re just in a time right now where we need to win all of our games," Miles said. "Everything is a must. For us to step up and beat a good team like that feels good."

In a back-and-forth game that saw neither team ever extend their lead to double digits, the Pacers appeared to seize control of the contest midway through the fourth quarter.

George Hill buried a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give Indiana a 95-89 lead with 5:15 to play.

But Dallas responded with a surge of its own. Parsons scored two straight layups and then Rajon Rondo sank a floater in the lane to tie the score at 97 with 2:20 remaining.

Roy Hibbert put the Pacers back in front with a pair of free throws with 1:30 left and Miles swished an open trey from the right wing 30 seconds later that proved to be the difference.

Dallas twice had the ball down three, but Miles drew a charge on Parsons on the first possession and secured the game-sealing rebound on the second before calmly knocking down a pair of free throws on the other end. It was a much-needed win for the Pacers, still fighting for a playoff spot with nine games remaining in the regular season.

"This is do or die for us," Hill said. "Everyone's got to put on their hard hats and go out there and continue to fight to the end of the game. Every guy in this locker room made a great effort to give us a win tonight."

It was a fitting finish from the man who got the Blue & Gold off to the right foot earlier in the night. Pacers head coach Frank Vogel spoke at length over the past couple days about the importance of his team getting off to better starts. Miles ensured that happened on Sunday.

The 6-foot-8 swingman drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the game's first 7:42 to ignite Indiana's offense. As a team, the Blue & Gold made 11-of-17 shots in the first quarter — including all six of their attempts from beyond the arc — to jump out to a 33-27 lead.

But the Mavericks battled back, outscoring the Pacers 23-10 over a 6:47 stretch in the second quarter to regain the lead, which changed hands several times up until the final minutes.

The Pacers regained the services of two key players on Sunday. After sitting out the last three games with a sore calf, sixth man Rodney Stuckey played just over 30 minutes. The Pacers' second-leading scorer tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Starting power forward David West, who sat out Thursday's loss in Milwaukee due to an allergic reaction, had 10 points, five boards, and five assists in 25:06.

George Hill added 14 points (eight of them coming in the final quarter) and five assists, while Roy Hibbert finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Mavericks, playing without injured leading scorer Monta Ellis, had a balanced offensive attack. Parsons led the way with 27 points and 10 boards, Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, and Rondo had 17 points and 10 assists.

The Pacers are now tied with Boston for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game back of Brooklyn for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Pacers play the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

"Tonight’s a good win, but we can’t really get too happy about it," Pacers center Ian Mahinmi said in the postgame locker room. "We have to look to the next game and we could use the same type of effort."

Inside the Numbers

Sunday's win snapped the Pacers' four-game home losing streak. Indiana is now 19-18 this season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with four home games remaining. Indiana has posted a winning record on its home court in each of the past 25 seasons – the longest active streak in the NBA.

Miles has now scored 20 or more points on 11 occasions this season, tied with Stuckey for the most 20+ point games on the Pacers roster. Indiana is 6-5 when Miles tops 20 points.

After giving up 61 points in the first half on 52.2 percent shooting, Indiana held the Mavs to just 38 points in the second half on 36.4 percent shooting.

Pacers forward Solomon Hill tied a career high with a team-high six assists in just 14:17.

George Hill had just six points through three quarters, but a late surge pushed him into double figures for the 17th time in the last 18 games.

Parsons recorded a points-rebounds double-double for the third time this season in the loss.

You Can Quote Me On That

"I think we really badly needed a win and wanted a win. They raised their level." -Vogel

"It was a great game playing against a great team with great players that made plays. I think it was a fun game from the fan’s standpoint to watch, us going at each other and making big plays." -Miles

"I think everybody was a little disappointed in the second quarter. They got hot. We came back in the locker room at halftime and we looked at each other and it was like, we gotta have a better effort on the defensive end. I think that’s what we did. We came out aggressive." -Mahinmi on the Pacers' improved defense in the second half

"They hit big shots in the fourth quarter. I know we battled them hard, but they made some plays." -Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle

"Miles hit some tough shots and George Hill hit some big ones also. It’s frustrating. It was like a story of two different halves. We can make it look as easy as good be sometimes and then just as difficult other times." -Parsons

"We scored close to 100 points. Offense is not the problem. You have to give their defense some credit. Once they’re able to set their defense with their two bigs clogging the paint, they can make it difficult for an offense." -Rondo

Stat of the Night

The Pacers shot a season-best 58.8 percent from 3-point range in the victory, going 10-for-17 from long range. Miles was 5-for-6 and Damjan Rudez was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.

Noteworthy

  • The Pacers improved to 5-0 this season when wearing their throwback "Flo-Jo" jerseys designed by USA track & field star Florence Griffith-Joyner. They are scheduled to wear them once more on April 8 in New York.
  • Flo-Jo's daughter, Mary Joyner, sang the national anthem before the game. Read More »
  • With Sunday's win, the Pacers swept the season series with the Mavericks for the second time in the last three seasons and seventh time overall.
  • Dallas leads the all-time series with Indiana 39-28, but the Pacers are 17-16 against the Mavs in Indianapolis.

Up Next

The Pacers travel to Brooklyn, where they'll take on the Nets on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET.