The Sports Xchange
Dec 27, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points to lead six players in double figures in the Dallas Mavericks' 98-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Harrison Barnes and Yogi Ferrell each had 13 points for Dallas (11-25). Wesley Matthews and Dwight Powell added 12 points apiece and Devin Harris scored 10 for the Mavericks, who shot 51.3 percent from the field (40 of 78).
Trailing 90-84, the Mavericks used a 10-0 run to take a 94-90 lead. The spurt was capped by Ferrell's 3-pointer. Bojan Bogdanovic's jumper cut the deficit to 94-92 and Lance Stephenson's layup tied it a 94-all with 53.9 seconds to go.
Barnes was fouled with 37.7 seconds left, hitting the second free throw to give Dallas a 95-94 lead. A steal by Matthews led to an easy layup by Dennis Smith Jr. to give the Mavs a 97-94 lead with 25.2 seconds to go.
Darren Collison missed a 3-point attempt with 7.1 seconds to go. Ferrell was fouled and hit the first of two free throws to seal it with 3.5 seconds left.
The Pacers (19-16) were without top scorer Victor Oladipo (24.9 points), who was sidelined with a sore right knee. Stephenson, who started in Oladipo's place, scored 16 points to share team-leading scoring honors with Collison and Myles Turner. Bogdanovic added 13 points for Indiana, which shot 48.1 percent (38 of 79 shots).
The Pacers expanded a one-point halftime advantage to three points (74-71) after three quarters. Indiana was 7 of 17 in the quarter and Dallas was 7 of 20.
Indiana hit 22 of 38 shots (57.9 percent) to hold a 54-53 lead at halftime. Dallas was 22 of 41 (53.7 percent) from the field before intermission.
Indiana held a 19-13 rebounding edge at halftime, but committed eight turnovers, six more than Dallas.
The Pacers, who scored the first five points, sank 11 of 18 shots to take a 29-22 lead after the first quarter.
Both teams were playing the back end of back-to-back games. The Pacers lost to Dallas 107-83, their largest margin of defeat this season. The Mavericks had upset visiting Toronto 98-93.
NOTES: Indiana dropped to 15-4 when making 10 or more 3-pointers in a game. The Pacers were 10 of 25 from 3-point range Wednesday. ... Pacers G Lance Stephenson averaged just five points on 25 percent shooting in the first eight games. Since then, Stephenson has scored in double figures 12 times. ... Dallas F Josh McRoberts, from the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel and a former Pacers player, continues to be sidelined with lower-extremity injury. He has yet to play this season. ... The Mavericks, who were averaging just 10.9 turnovers a game over the previous 12 games, committed just nine Wednesday night.... Mavericks G Yogi Ferrell, former Indianapolis Park Tudor School and Indiana University standout, got a large ovation when he entered the game off the bench in the first quarter.