NBA: Pacers hold on for win over skidding Mavericks
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball against Dwight Powell #7 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first half at American Airlines Center on February 28, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. Tim Heitman/Getty Images/AFP
Tyrese Haliburton scored 32 points and Myles Turner added 24 as the visiting Indiana Pacers became the latest team to take down the new-look Dallas Mavericks, prevailing 124-122 on Tuesday.
Jordan Nwora scored 16 points and Aaron Nesmith added 14 as the Pacers won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 6-8.
Luka Doncic logged 39 points, nine rebounds and six assists on his 24th birthday and Kyrie Irving had 16 points and nine assists as the duo fell to 1-4 while on the court together. Irving was acquired by the Mavericks in a Feb. 6 trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving missed a step-back 3-point attempt with 1.1 seconds remaining that would have given Dallas the victory.
The Mavericks fell for the fifth time in six games overall, while the Pacers earned their third win in four games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. also scored 16 points for the Mavericks, while Reggie Bullock added 14. Maxi Kleber returned for Dallas after missing the past 35 games because of a right hamstring tear, and he had nine points in 24 minutes.
the birthday boy balled out tonight.🎉
Tyrese Haliburton finished with 32 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. pic.twitter.com/OoVqvmJm2a
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 1, 2023
After a tight opening 20 minutes of the game, the Pacers went on a 18-8 burst to close the second quarter and took a 69-59 lead into halftime.
After trailing by 12 points early in the second half, the Mavericks rallied to take an 84-80 advantage midway through the third quarter. However, the Pacers went on another burst to bring a 106-98 edge into the fourth quarter.
Indiana took a 121-110 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a dunk from Bennedict Mathurin, but the Mavericks used a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one with 2:30 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers from Doncic and Reggie Bullock.
Irving, Kleber, Bullock and Hardaway all had 3-point attempts to give the Mavericks the late lead but missed, with Hardaway’s shot coming with 27.1 seconds remaining. Haliburton made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining for a 124-120 lead.
Doncic made two free throws to cut the deficit to 124-122 before Indiana rookie Andrew Nembhard missed two free throws with 7.1 seconds left. Irving then missed his potential game-winner.
