Mavs Unable to Keep Pace, Fall in OT to Indiana

Photo Credit: Getty Images, NBCDFW.com

In a season opener that was highly anticipated by everyone involved, the Dallas Mavericks dropped an OT thriller to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

 

Game Summary: 

 

The new-look Mavs got off to a sluggish start Wednesday, trailing 33-21 after the first quarter. Most of the Pacers buckets in the first quarter were uncontested due to late rotations by the Mavs defense. It was ugly to watch at times, but I truly think this was a result of the guys not having played together long enough. Dallas clawed back in the second quarter and trailed the Pacers 59-52 at halftime. Justin Anderson had the best highlight of the first half with this super-athletic put-back dunk as the 1^st quarter drew to a close.

 

SIMBAAAA! ? https://t.co/F2jSDJKLXx

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 26, 2016

 

The second half was wild to say the least. In the 3^rd quarter, the Mavs inched to within two, cutting the Pacers lead to 72-70.  However, every time Dallas got close to getting over the hump, Indiana would respond with a run of their own.  The Pacers led the game after 3 quarters, 94-85. In the 4^th quarter, the Mavs finally broke through and took their first lead of the game (97-96) on a J.J. Barea 3-pointer with 8:06 left in regulation.  From there, it was big shot after big shot down the stretch.  Dallas tied the game at 115-115 on a clutch Harrison Barnes 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left.

 

HARRISON. BARNES. ? #MFFL pic.twitter.com/tIOkP7WWK2

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 27, 2016

 

In OT, the Mavs had plenty of opportunities but were never able to take the lead. Pacers’ Center, Myles Turner, had a monster night, scoring 30 points and 16 rebounds; with his biggest shot of the game coming in OT. Down 119-118 with 1:36 to go, Dallas was unable to get the stop they needed, as Turner buried a 3-pointer that essentially put the game away.

 

Final Score: Mavs 121, Pacers 130

 

 

Individual Stats:

 

Despite the loss, the Mavs got some pretty big performances on Opening Night against the Pacers.  Here were some of the top performers of the night:

 

Deron Williams – 25 points (10-18 shooting), 7 assists

Dirk Nowitzki – 22 points (8-19 shooting), 8 rebounds

J.J. Barea – 22 points (7-17 shooting) 6 assists

Harrison Barnes – 19 points (8-14 shooting), 9 rebounds

 

Wesley Matthews scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. He also played outstanding individual defense for most of the night. The only problem was his efficiency, as he only shot 18.8% (3-13) from the field. I’m expecting a much better performance from the Ironman next game.

 

Seth Curry only played 15 minutes but scored 7 points rather efficiently on 3-4 shooting from the field. Unfortunately for Curry, he committed 6 fouls in those 15 minutes of play and fouled out.

 

 

Quotes of the Night:

 

“We showed fight. We showed grit, at times, to always keep battling back. … It was just too many breakdowns defensively.” – Dirk Nowitzki

 

“Harrison Barnes played a great game. … Look, he’s a champion. He’s a big-time player. I knew he was going to play well.” – Rick Carlisle

 

“We never could hit that big shot to take the lead. But if we fight like that every night, it’s gonna be a great season for us.” – J.J. Barea

(Quotes via Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com)

 

 

Up Next:

 

The Mavs will host their I-45 rivals, the Houston Rockets, for their home opener at the American Airlines Center this Friday, October 28^th, at 7:30 pm CT. This game will be the first of a home-and-home series between Dallas and Houston.

 

Final Note:

 

Nothing fancy here. Just some of Dirk’s highlights from the game to cheer everyone up!

Who else saw this coming? Dirk @swish41 trailing three! #MFFL #Mavs https://t.co/e41izZC9e5

— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) October 27, 2016