No 'D' in Dallas: Mavs Defense Nonexistent vs. Pacers in Another Disappointing Loss

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, making them 1-5 since Luka Doncic returned from his heel injury before the All-Star break. If things don't make a positive turn in a hurry, the Mavs might find themselves missing the playoffs altogether before it's said and done.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 28, 2023

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The Dallas Mavericks had a great chance to start off their six-game homestand 2-0 on Sunday night, but they blew a 27-point lead in what ended as a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The defensive woes continued on Tuesday, as the Mavs got torched by the Indiana Pacers in a 124-122 loss.

Dallas had been 2-2 against Indiana and former coach Rick Carlisle in the Jason Kidd coaching era, but Carlisle took the lead over his former club in what was an exciting game down the stretch.

Despite having a handful of opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the game, the Mavs weren't able to get over the hump. Kyrie Irving had the shot at the buzzer -- a step-back 3-pointer -- but it hit unkindly off the iron. Dallas missed its final six shots of the game. Irving finished with 16 points, five rebounds and nine assists while shooting just 7-18 overall and 0-4 from deep.

Luka Doncic, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Tuesday, led the way for the Mavs with 39 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 14-25 shooting from the field and 3-9 shooting from deep, but it wasn't enough to make up for Dallas' matador defense during the majority of the game.

Although the Mavs were able to outscore the Pacers 24-18 in the final period, the 106 points they gave up through the first three quarters proved too much to overcome. The Mavs are now 1-5 since Doncic returned from his heel injury before the All-Star break.

With the loss, the Mavs have now dropped down to seventh-place in the Western Conference standings behind the Golden State Warriors. Dallas is just 1.5 games back of falling out of play-in tournament range altogether.

Next up, the Mavs take on MVP candidate Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. The game will be tip-off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will air on TNT.

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Published Feb 28, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.