The Dallas Mavericks (1-1) gifted first-year head coach Dusty May with his first NBA win on Friday, outlasting the Indiana Pacers (1-1), 121-105, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But at what cost?
Cooper Flagg left the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter, but the Mavericks had already built a soft fluffy cushion in the form of what was at one point a 37-point lead. They had enough in the tank to hang on, behind 24 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting from Kyrie Irving and 20 points and 13 rebounds from PJ Washington. Max Christie and Naji Marshall chipped in 16 and 15, respectively, in the win as well.
The Pacers got 23 points on three made 3-pointers from Pascal Siakam, and 18 points and seven assists from Tyrese Haliburton in the loss. Here are five more stats that stood out from Friday’s win at the Pacers, a team a lot of people thought was one to be dealt with in a deeper Eastern Conference this year.
22-6: Mavericks’ first-quarter run
Marcus Sasser’s hot hand from 3-point range carried over from Wednesday’s season-opening loss at the Houston Rockets and fueled an inspiring early 22-6run that saw the Mavs grow their lead to 33-19 late in the first quarter. Both of his first-quarter triples came as part of the run, which started with 4:55 left in the first. Flagg found him with his third assist of the opening frame on the break for a pull-up look that made it a 23-17 ballgame. Two minutes later, Irving found Sasser in the left corner for another long ball, this time extending the Dallas lead to 33-19.
Both Flagg and Irving also hit 3-pointers during the run. Dallas scored an outlandish 44 points in the first quarter on the strength of that late run. Flagg, Irving, Sasser and Naji Marshall combined to shoot 11-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point land in the first. They were out of their minds, and the Mavericks led 44-27 after one.
15-0: Another Mavs’ second-quarter run
The Mavericks kept getting in passing lanes for deflections, Indiana kept turning the ball over and Dallas continued to pour it on in the second quarter. The Pacers turned the ball over seven times in the first 7:15 of the period, including on four straight possessions at one point midway through the frame. It created fast-break opportunity after fast-break opportunity for the Mavericks. They were out and running.
Zaccharie Risacher, who had a less-than-inspiring debut for the Mavs on Wednesday, was the primary beneficiary of all the easy buckets. He scored three easy ones as the Mavericks pushed the advantage to 30 points during a 15-0 run in the middle of the second. He also rose up and blocked a shot attempt inside from Pascal Siakam, which created another fast-break chance earlier in the run. Risacher’s efforts on both ends helped the Mavs increase what was a 46-31 lead two minutes into the second to 61-31 just a little more than four minutes later.
Risacher racked up 11 points, five rebounds and two stocks in the first half. The Mavs’ bench outscored the Pacers’ reserve unit 28-6 in the first half. Dallas led 77-43 at the break.
19-2: Third-quarter bench scoring reversal
There were moments after Aaron Nesmith’s flagrant foul on Cooper Flagg with a minute left in the first half when it looked like the Pacers would climb back into the game, but the Mavericks held serve for the most part in the third.
Indiana’s bench finally woke up in the third, though, to help them creep to within 22 by the time the fourth quarter rolled around. The Pacers’ bench outscored the Dallas reserves 19-2 in the third after getting dragged, 28-6 in the first half. Quenton Jackson and Obi Toppin combined to score 11 in the third, as Indiana outscored the Mavs 33-21 in the frame.
Still, Dallas carried a 98-76 lead into the decisive fourth quarter. Irving and PJ Washington combined for 17 points, and Washington pulled down five boards in the third to keep Indiana at arm’s length.
5: Kyrie Irving made 3-pointers
Irving continued his hot hand from the outside after Flagg exited the game with “shoulder soreness” as a result of Nesmith’s hard flagrant foul in transition late in the first half. Irving refused to let the Pacers back within shouting distance of the lead, hitting three big 3-pointers, all from near the top of the key, in a stretch from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth.
His fifth of the game came with 9:43 left to play and put the Mavericks ahead 103-82. It gave him five points in the first two minutes and change of the fourth quarter, and 24 points for the game. But on the other end of the floor, Irving committed his fifth personal foul of the game with 9:33 remaining, committing the mortal sin of fouling Nesmith in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.
Irving, who is also still presumably on a minutes restriction, came out of the game immediately for one or both of those reasons. He would foul out with 4:23 left in the game after logging 25 minutes.
He called his minutes restriction to start the year “difficult mentally” in his televised postgame interview, but also said, “It’s a team game. We’ve got to build these habits now. All of the components, all the players we have, we’re interchangeable.”
6: Kyrie Irving fouls
If the number five was notable for Irving in the win, the number six was one little notch more notable, at least from a statistical perspective. It was the first foul-out of Irving’s 781 regular-season game career.
The Mavericks broadcast crew first brought the statistical oddity up before May confirmed it in his postgame press conference. His last two fouls in the fourth quarter were not particularly good ones. He fouled Nesmith on a 3-point attempt early in the fourth, forcing himself out of the game with 9:33 remaining. That left Dallas without either of the bona fide stars on the roster for a long, precarious stretch of the fourth.
He came back in with 4:55 left to play, but fouled out of the game 30 seconds later, trying to prevent the Pacers from starting a fast break with the Mavericks nursing a 112-99 lead.
But hey, the Mavs were able to bring it home, so no harm, no foul. Except for the six he was whistled for.
21: Mavericks stocks
Even after Flagg left the game, the Mavericks continued to play well on the defensive end for most of the game. Dallas ended the night with 11 blocked shots and 10 steals.
Washington blocked three shots to go along with 20 points and 13 boards — really a huge night for the veteran who’s gotten a lot of flak for the perception of not fitting in with a revamped roster. Risacher blocked three more, finishing with a very respectable 11 points and six rebounds. Gafford blocked a pair as well.
Naji Marshall pilfered three steals, to match Flagg for the team-high mark in the win over the Pacers.
