The Indiana Pacers entered Tuesday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks having lost three of their last four games. In their last game against the Spurs, they weren’t able to generate enough offense in the second half to get the job done.
This was not a problem in Dallas. The Pacers scored 74 points in the first half and outscored Dallas 32-18 in the third quarter. They shot 60 percent in the first half and also made eight three-pointers en route to a 137-120 victory. Here are some player notes for each Pacer player who saw action, starting with the starters.
Tyrese Haliburton has struggled recently. He came to Dallas 0-13 from three in the last two games. He wasn’t driving to the hoop for some reason. While he was still just 2-8 from three, he drove to the basket a lot more and scored 16 points. He also had 11 assists, a few of which came from drives to the hoop.
Nembhard only made four shots in this game, but he made all of them to score 10 points. He played solid defense against Luka Doncic and Josh Green and added 5 assists. Nembhard is really starting to shoot well from deep and was 2-2 from beyond the arc.
Nesmith had the unenviable task of guarding Doncic for most of the evening. He committed three fouls in the first half and Doncic scored 39 points. Nesmith was just 1-3 from the field and only played 22 minutes in the game. He’s clearly still trying to find his rhythm.
Although his shooting percentage wasn’t great, he only shot 5-11, Pascal Siakam grabbed 13 rebounds and contributed 6 assists. He still had 13 points, so it’s not like he wasn’t a factor in terms of scoring. Just another solid game from the starting forward.
Turner had 20 points against his hometown team, all in the first half. He seems to be playing his best against Dallas for some reason. The pick and roll matchup with Haliburton was a pretty effective source of offense for the Pacers in the first half and opened things up for everyone in the second half.
Even though he didn’t score 26 points like he did against the Spurs, McConnell was still extremely effective Tuesday night. He had 13 points, 7 assists and went 2-2 from three. He brings energy every night and is a very valuable member of the bench unit.
Obi Toppin shot 5-6 from the field for 14 points in just 16 minutes. He was effective in a small sample size and hit 2-3 from deep. Just another solid game from a guy who was moved to the bench after the Siakam trade. Toppin doesn’t complain, he just produces.
Smith was probably the worst player on the bench in this one. 4-7 shooting for 11 points isn’t bad, but he missed three free throws and was beaten several times for lobs on the Doncic/Gafford pick-and-roll. It’s still not a bad game for Stix.
Mathurin was the top scorer off the bench, scoring 19 points on 7-16 shooting. His ability to make tough shots when the shot clock is low is extremely valuable to this team. He is the only player off the bench who can create his shot besides McConnell.
Ben Sheppard gets the highest score of the night because of everything the Pacers asked of him as a rookie, and yet he still delivers. Sheppard was 4-6 from three for all of his 12 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and played his usual good defense. Sheppard has been one of the Indiana Pacers’ most important players throughout the season.
Following. Next story. The 3 most important Pacers players throughout the season. dark
It was good to see the Pacers get a win. They will look to start a winning streak when they face the Timberwolves on Thursday.
