The Dallas Mavericks (7-4) were on the second night of a back-to-back when they welcomed the Indiana Pacers (3-8) Monday night. They found themselves battling back from a deficit for most of the first half, but in the third quarter they started to find a groove and ultimately pulled away for a 125-122 win in a game that came down to the final possession. Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving led the way, while players like Walter Clayton, Santi Aldama and Caleb Martin did the little things around the edges
for what proved to be a total team victory.
78: Flagg and Irving combined point total
The duo of Flagg and Irving is absolutely terrifying when they are “on” and they were on Monday night. The pair dropped 78 points combined on impressive efficiency. Together, they shot 27-of-43, good for a 62.7% connection rate. Irving hit an insane 7-of-10 from downtown, with Flagg an excellent 3-of-6 in his own right. They were also 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Each player individually was a sight to behold, but the combination of what they were doing together was truly next level.
29: Irving’s plus/minus
A single game plus/minus needs to be looked at carefully, as it can be misleading. Having said that, Irving played 38 minutes and was a game-high +29 with no other player on either team being even close (the next best was +15 by Daniel Gafford and Andrew Nembhard). Irving’s presence was apparent from his scoring, but he did so much more than that as a poised floor general that helped the Mavs to victory in other ways as well.
43-27: Mavericks’ rebounding edge
Don’t look now, but Dallas once again dominated on the boards. Being +16 on the glass in a three-point game is unquestionably a big factor in why the Mavs came out on top. The best part of the disparity is that Gafford was in foul trouble most of the night and Morez Johnson, Jr. sat out altogether. Within the overall discrepancy was Dallas’ 10-1 offensive rebound advantage.
1: Caleb Martin steals
On the final possession with the Mavericks up by three points, the Pacers were inbounding from half-court. Dusty May substituted Irving for Martin for his length and defensive prowess and Martin rewarded him and Mavs nation with the defensive stop of the night. On a somewhat errant pass across nearly the entire court sideline-to-sideline, Martin streaked in and tipped the ball away from Pascal Siakam, allowing the clock to run out. Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle was furious there was no foul call, however it appeared to be the correct no-call by the referees. Martin got his hand on the ball and tipped it well away from Siakam before the two players’ body’s made contact with each other. As a result, the Pacers weren’t able to attempt a final shot and Dallas got the win.
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