Here are my running thoughts from the Pacers’ 109-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks Monday night at American Airlines Center.
- This is the first of four straight games on the road for the Pacers with stops all over — in Dallas, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Washington.
- It also begins a daunting stretch with 17 games played over 32 days and never more than one day off — at best — between games.
- Mavericks, who are admittedly in tank mode, entered the game 18-42 with losses in each of their last four games.
- Oladipo exited with 5:10 into the game after picking up his first foul. Instead of inserting Lance Stephenson as usual, Glenn Robinson III was the Pacers’ first sub off the bench. Glenn quickly went to work and scored five points.
- Good to see Park Tudor and IU product Yogi Ferrell still excelling in Dallas. Despite his size, listed as 6-foot, he’s good at creating space and even better now at sinking a fadeaway.
- Back home in Dallas, Myles Turner played confident basketball. Some players tighten up and are stressed at home, but he is at ease.
- First half felt like a Pacers game from years ago when offense was hard to come by. They managed just 43 points over the first half and missed nine of their 10 3-point attempts. Victor Oladipo dealt with foul trouble all half and was limited to 11 minutes. Mavs ended the half on an 8-0 run and led by six at the break.
- Joe Young started the half to allow Cory Joseph — the current starter while Darren Collison misses time to rehab knee surgery — to be out there when J.J. Barea was out there. He didn’t like the matchup of Young on Barea.
- Poor clock management to end the third quarter allowed Mavs’ Doug McDermott a chance to beat the buzzer, which he did from 28 feet out to break a 65-65 tie after three.
- I continue to be impressed by Shekinah Young, wife of Thad Young. She often travels to watch her husband play in person, and that was the case Monday in Dallas.
- Mavericks used an 18-5 run in the fourth to take a double-digit lead. Then, limited to just 14 minutes, Oladipo came back in and helped the Pacers to within three points with one minute to play.
- Dwight Powell and Cory Joseph each were given technical fouls after the two got tangled on the baseline when battling for a rebound with 45.1 seconds left.
- Oladipo nearly got a steal but had a toe on the baseline. Officially from the NBA: “An offensive player who is positioned Out-of-Bounds must re-establish his position on the court by having a least one foot inbounds and not be touching out-of-bounds before making contact with the ball.”
- Despite scoring 38 points in the fourth quarter, the Pacers yielded 41 points. For comparison, the Pacers scored 43 points in the first half.
- Nate McMillan postgame: “Didn’t play no defense. We can’t give up 41 points in the fourth quarter.”
- Oladipo played the fewest minutes among starters but finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Myles Turner tallied a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.
- The Mavericks (19-42) had six players reached double figures but it was J.J. Barea off the bench who had the most success. He contributed 19 points (7 for 11 from the field) and nine assists.
- Yogi played 31 minutes and had seven points.
- The difference: Indiana went 5-for-20 from 3-point range and was outscored by 27 points.
- Up next: The Pacers (34-26) travel to Atlanta for game two of this four-game trip throughout the middle of the United States.
.@YogiFerrell11 always draws a crowd.
Here he’s with a group of @IndianaMBB fans after tonight’s Mavs win. #iubb pic.twitter.com/NpnCZ3ZIhr
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) February 27, 2018