Indiana Pacers 134 – Dallas Mavericks 127 (Nov. 5th, 2024) Game Recap

1. First Quarter

On Friday night, the Indiana Pacers lost Isaiah Jackson (torn achilles) and Aaron Nesmith (sprained left ankle) in their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Tonight, they would be without Aaron Nesmith, thus thrusting Bennedict Mathurin into the starting line for the second consecutive game. With Dallas playing last night, you’d expect them to come out to a fast start but that was not the case. Andrew Nembhard drilled a three to start the game and a 15-2 run for the Pacers to open the first three minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Indiana also got baskets from Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, and Tyrese Haliburton. Dallas would eventually get going on both ends of the court and make it a two-point game with a Naji Marshall floater. With 2:23 left, it was 27-25, and then Indiana’s second unit went to work to close the quarter. Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard hit back-to-back threes after the Marshall floater. After twelve minutes, Indiana led 36-29. Luka Doncic led all scorers with 14 points with half of those coming from the foul stripe. Indiana’s leading scorer was Turner with 11 points. In the quarter, Indiana shot 7/9 beyond the arc and 5/12 inside it.

2. Second Quarter

After a blistering start for Indiana, they provided a much more typical second quarter. It started with Dallas trimming its deficit to 40-37 following a Doncic triple with 9:53 left in the half after the teams exchanged a couple of baskets. Jarace Walker would double Indiana’s lead when he converted a corner three with 7:32 left in quarter two. The Mavericks continued to chip away of their deficit and would eventually tie it with 4:58 left in the quarter after a Spencer Dinwiddie three at 47-47. The two teams would tie three more times in the quarter, but Dallas would take its first lead of the game when Kyrie Irving drilled a three with 2:39 remaining in the half. The largest deficit for Indiana in the quarter was two after Irving’s second three of the quarter. Indiana closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 63-59 advantage into halftime. Irving led all scorers in the quarter with eight points, but at halftime it was Doncic pacing all scorers with 19 points. Luka also had seven assists and four rebounds. Indiana’s leading scorer was Turner with 15 points. Siakam was the only other Pacer in double digits with 13 points. For Dallas, Marshall had 14 points and Irving had 10 points.

3. Third Quarter

This quarter would be a mixture of the first two because both teams were on fire offensively with neither team going on extended stretches. Dallas quickly tied the game with 10:23 left in quarter three after a Klay Thompson 26-foot three at 67-67. Indiana responded with a 10-1 run that featured baskets from Nembhard, Siakam, Haliburton, and Turner. Dallas trailed 79-70 with 7:43 left in the quarter and called a timeout following a Turner dunk. Jason Kidd’s team responded coming out of the timeout with eight straight points to threaten retaking the lead from the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton eventually extended Indiana’s advantage to 94-86 with 3:10 remaining in the third with a near thirty foot three. Dallas then went on a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead after a Spencer Dinwiddie three. Indiana scored the final field goal of the quarter with Siakam knocking down a fadeaway to send the Pacers into the fourth quarter with a 96-95 lead. Turner led all scorers in the quarter with 13 points followed by Haliburton and Doncic with 10 points. After three quarters, Haliburton and Doncic had already recorded double-doubles.

4. Fourth Quarter

Through three quarters, Bennedict Mathurin was relatively quiet. He came through in the fourth when the team needed him. At the start of the fourth quarter, it was a very close game that was back and forth. Indiana and Dallas were tied three times in the first three minutes. Jason Kidd would call a timeout with 7:58 left in the game after a Mathurin layup and Toppin layup to make it 110-106. Dallas would hang around and eventually tie the game at 114 and 116 on Dinwiddie field goals. With 5:47 left, the game was tied and then Indiana delivered one last punch on Dallas. Rick Carlisle’s team went on an 8-0 run with baskets from Nembhard, Mathurin, Siakam, and free throws from Turner. It felt like the game was in the hands of the Pacers officially when Mathurin delivered a three with Doncic all up in his face with 2:12 left in the game to make it 129-120. However, Dallas had one final surge. Doncic made a three and then Mathurin missed a floater with 1:10 remaining. P.J. Washington scored a layup just seven seconds after Mathurin’s miss. Indiana’s lead was 130-125 and then Haliburton was able to create just enough space and knock down a midrange jumper to put Indiana on top by seven. The only basket in the final in the final minute besides the Haliburton field goal was a Mathurin layup. Indiana defeats Dallas 134-127.

5. Top Performers

Myles Turner (30p, 11r), Tyrese Haliburton (25p, 12a, 4r, 2s, 1b), Pascal Siakam (23p, 6r, 4a), Bennedict Mathurin (16p, 7r, 3a), T.J. McConnell (12p), Obi Toppin (11p, 6r), and Andrew Nembhard (11p, 3r, 3a). For Dallas, Luka Doncic (34p, 15a, 7r), Kyrie Irving (27p, 5r, 4a), Naji Marshall (20p, 6a, 5r), Klay Thompson (16p), Spencer Dinwiddie (14p), and P.J. Washington (8p, 11r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 3-1 in Dallas underneath Rick Carlisle since returning in 2021
• Indiana has won five of the last six meetings in Dallas
• Tyrese Haliburton has extended his double-double streak to four games
  • During this stretch, Haliburton has 45 assists to 6 turnovers
• T.J. McConnell has scored 10+ points in four of his last five games
• Myles Turner recorded his first double-double of the season
• Myles Turner has now scored 20+ points in three consecutive games in Dallas
• Myles Turner recorded his seventh career 30+ point and 10+ rebound game
• Luka Doncic recorded his first game with 10+ assists on the season
• In all seven games this season for the Pacers, the team that has won the rebounding margin, has won the game

7. Next Up

The entire NBA will be off on Wednesday for Election Day. Indiana will next be in action on Wednesday against Orlando. Pat Boylan will get things started with the pregame show at 6:30pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play of Pacers vs Magic at 7pm from Gainbridge Fieldhouse on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.