If Yogi Ferrell wanted to make the most of his homecoming to the Hoosier state on Wednesday night, he did just that.

Ferrell finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep and hit a late free throw while also contributing air-tight defense for Dallas down the stretch as the Mavericks won their second game in a row, 98-94, over the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds with a three and it’s something they’ve proven good at this season. The Pacers entered the contest as the league’s best-shooting team from deep (38%). Dallas, however, locked down and held the Pacers to a Darren Collison heave that glanced harmlessly off the front of the rim and into the waiting hands of Ferrell.

Dallas (11-25) improved to 2-5 on the second night of back-to-backs. The Pacers dropped to 2-6.

Indiana didn’t have the services of breakout star Victor Oladipo, who was nursing a sore knee, but the Pacers more than accounted for his absence in the first half by shooting 57% from the floor. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed several early 3s in the first half as Indiana opened up a 29-22 lead after the first quarter.

The Mavericks responded in the third quarter with much better defense and a vintage performance from Dirk Nowitzki. The big German contributed three straight baskets as Dallas rallied with a 10-0 run to erase the Pacer lead.

Dennis Smith Jr., one night removed from a very active performance against Toronto, had a quiet first half, but saw plenty of run in the final tense minutes of the contest and ended up with a fast break layup to help put Dallas in front, 97-94. Wesley Matthews forced the steal which led to the Smith bucket and gave the Mavericks the three-point lead.

While Nowitzki led all Mavericks with 15 points, five others reached double figures and Smith finished with 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting with four rebounds and an assist.

Harrison Barnes finished with 13 points, Matthews had 12, Dwight Powell contributed 12 off the bench and Devin Harris finished with 10.

Dallas finished the night shooting 51.3% from the field while shooting just 8-of-29 (27.6%) from deep. The Mavericks, though outrebounded (39 to 35), held a 15-3 advantage in fast break points. Smith accounted for a chunk of those points and it ended up being the difference.

Dallas travels to take on the Pelicans at 7 p.m. Friday before returning home for a four-game homestand on Jan. 3 to play host to the Golden State Warriors.