Brandon Rush leads Indiana to 102-89 win over the short-handed Mavericks
On Wednesday night, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki sat out his eighth straight game with a sprained right knee.
The Mavericks are just starting to have an idea of what they’re missing.
The Mavericks were roaring at the top of the Western Conference when Nowitzki left. They seem to have lost the winning touch from that point onward.
Coming into the showdown with the Indiana Pacers, Dallas had a 2-6 record without Nowitzki. The woefully weak Dallas offence however, failed to arrest the slide and added another loss to that tally on Wednesday night, as the
much touted streak busters of the NBA dropped their third game in succession.
In a topsy-turvy match, the teams stuck at each other throughout the first half. The Pacers however saved their best for the last. The home team hit the pace with the advent of the third frame, and turned a 52-all tie into a
77-69 advantage entering the final quarter. They never looked back after that and eased to a 102-89 win.
Brandon Rush spearheaded the Pacers’ offence with 20 points, while Darren Collison and Danny Granger followed with 17 points each. The story of the night though was Indiana’s sensational prodigy, Paul George. The dazzling Rookie
came off the bench and infused some life into the Pacers offence with a season-high 16 points, including four rippers from downtown.
The Pacers committed just two turnovers in the second half, and a total of seven in the game, as they sprinted to back-to-back victories after a span of more than one month. Jason Terry led with 18 points for the Mavericks,
who were also playing without Caron Butler (out for the season). While Tyson Chandler chipped in with 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle had the rough edge of the Indiana home-coming.
It was Chandler who provided the Mavericks an early boost, scoring seven of their first 11 points, en-route to an 11-4 advantage midway through the first quarter. The Pacers however countered immediately with a 7-0 spurt and
then kept pace with the visitors to finish the quarter at 25-26. A deadlock ensued in the second quarter. The match was tied eight times within a span of 11 minutes, as the teams proceeded to the second half with the scores tied at 52-all.
Indiana had an air of determination about them heading into the third quarter. They clogged the gaps in their defence, to force the Mavs out of their comfort zones. On the offensive end as well, they pushed the ball deep and
found their shots when it really mattered. Dallas on the contrary couldn't make shots when they needed to, and their back-line couldn't pull off the crucial stops either.
The Pacers tried to break away early in the frame but after the Mavs pegged them back midway, it was Tyler Hansbrough who finally helped the Pacers pull away, knocking down two mid-range jumpers. Danny Granger followed with
another one and Indiana were off and running. They brutally exposed the below par Dallas offence and finished the third quarter with a 77-69 lead.
It was all Indiana in the fourth, as Dallas didn't have the offence to make up the deficit without Nowitzki. Eventually the Mavs lost 102-89.
The Dallas coach was furious when asked about Nowitzki, and the troubles the Mavs are having without him after the game. Carlisle said, "I'm not answering any Dirk questions. We don't have Dirk, so it's not a topic that's worth
discussing. We've got to win with the guys we have."
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