Mavs Lose To Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS — Having spent part of his NBA career playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Wednesday night was somewhat emotional for Indiana guard Monta Ellis, who missed eight shots and failed to score during the first 24 minutes.
But Ellis took out some frustration on his former team with a 19-point second half, making 7 of 9 field goal attempts, helping Indiana rally for a 107-81 victory in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“The coaches told me to continue to attack and to keep shooting,” said Ellis, whose 13-point third quarter helped the Pacers outscore Dallas 30-17 in the 12 minutes after halftime. “I missed a lot of shots in the first half, shots I usually make. But our defense on their pick and roll in the second half was really important.”
Indiana (15-9), which got a game-best 20 points from guard/forward C.J. Miles and 19 from guard/forward Paul George, outscored Dallas 62-34 during the final 24 minutes.
“Our defensive effort has been much better the last couple of games, and in the second half tonight, we really had to play defense,” said George, who has been battling the flu this week.
Raymond Felton scored 16 and Dirk Nowitzki, who made only 6 of 16 shots, added 13 for the Mavericks (14-12), who were 16 of 48 from the field (33.3 percent) after halftime, when the 6-foot-6 Miles spent some time guarding the 7-foot Nowitzki.
Indiana is 6-0 this season when an opponent shots less than 40 percent from the field and is 8-0 when allowing 90 points or less. Dallas finished at only 36.7 percent from the field (33 of 90).
“I just tried to make Dirk take tough shots,” said Miles, who was 7 of 13 from the field and
added seven rebounds. “We did a much better job contesting shots in the second half.”
Indiana increased its lead to 85-71 with 8:29 remaining in the game with 3-pointers from Rodney Stuckey and Miles and baskets from Stuckey and Jordan Hill, prompting a Dallas timeout. An Ellis 3-pointer with 5:44 left gave the Pacers a 93-75 advantage.
Stuckey finished with 12 points and seven assists, and George Hill added 11 for the Pacers, who improved to 9-3 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“Really, Ellis got himself going in the second half tonight,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “I don’t think the fact he was playing Dallas was a factor. He speaks fondly of the time he spent with the Mavericks.
“The pace was to our liking tonight, and in the second half, I think we wore them down. Our strength is figuring out the game while we are playing it, and we did that tonight. I thought Rodneu Stuckey had a lot to do with that.”
Ellis’ 13-point third quarter gave the Pacers a 75-64 lead with 12 minutes to play.
Ellis scored six of the Pacers’ first eight second half points for a 53-49 lead with 7:49 on the clock. George’s short shot from the lane with 5:05remaining in the third quarter gave Indiana a 61-56 advantage. The Pacers stretched the lead to 64-56 before a Charlie Villanueva basket pulled Dallas back to within six.
An Ellis 3-pointer and two George free throws gave Indiana a 69-58 lead with 2:55 left in the third period.
“We played poorly in the second half,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “From start to finish, we allowed inconsistency with our shot making to affect our energy in the game. We gotta hang in and keep playing. We hung in there in the first half and stole the lead, but by the fourth quarter, it was ugly.”
A Felton 3-pointer with 0.5 left on the clock gave the Mavericks a 47-45 halftime lead, capping an opening 24 minutes during which neither team shot well.
“We shot poorly in the second half, but we didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half, either,” Nowitzki said. “Ray kind of kept us in it with his performance, but then our defense went away in the second half. We couldn’t get any traction and couldn’t get any stops. The Pacers are a good team … athletic and long.”
Dallas was 17 of 42 (40.5 percent), bolstered by Felton’s 5 of 8, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Indiana was 18 of 45 (40 percent), including a combined 9 of 16 from Miles and George Hill.
Through 24 minutes, Felton had 14 points to lead Dallas, and Miles had 12 and George Hill 11 for Indiana.
The Mavericks enjoyed a 29-22 rebounding advantage at halftime, led by 11 from Zaza Pachulia. Ian Mahinmi had seven during the first two quarters for the Pacers and finished with 10 rebounds. Pachulia led both teams with 14.
Indiana led 20-19 after one period, a quarter in which the teams were a combined 13 of 47 from the field.
The Mavericks played the second half without reserve guard Devin Harris, who suffered a hamstring injury during the opening quarter. The Pacers played the final quarter and a half without forward Lavoy Allen, who sprained an ankle.
