Indiana Pacers used a balanced attack to destroy Dallas Mavericks 103-83: NBA Recap
Indiana Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks 103-83 here at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday night; their biggest win over the Mavs in 15 years.
All five starters in the Pacers camp got into double scoring figures on the night. George Hill and David West both scored 15 points; Roy Hibbert had 14 points and 8 rebounds while Sam Young came off the bench to chip in with 14 points.
O.J Mayo led the Mavericks with 19 points while Darren Collison and Vince Carter both dropped 10 points for the Mavericks.
The game was pretty close in the first two periods with both teams exchanging lead many times. But the Pacers overwhelmed Mavs in the third period as they outscored them by 10 and followed it up by outscoring 27-16 in the final period, to emerge triumphant.
"The game got away from us," Carlisle said. "A lot of guys got hot. Collectively, I think their collective will was stronger than ours. After a really encouraging first half and a couple minutes in the third quarter, it just went the other way."
Pacers feeding from the energy and passion of the home crowd got off to a great start and were up 7-0 immediately. The Mavs found their rhythm soon enough and tied the score at 9 with an Elton Brand jumper. It was pretty even throughout the period, as the lead kept switching hands. It was tied at 18 after a Rodrigue Beaubois free throw for the Dallas. The Mavs were up 24-21 later in the period before the Pacers scored the final three points to tie the score at the end of the period.
The second period passed in similar fashion and the score was tied at 29 early. A Bernard James free throw put the Mavericks up by 35-31 but the Pacers responded immediately to tie the score at 35. The trend continued and the Mavericks were leading by 49-48 going into third period.
The score was tied on 54 early in the period before the Pacers changed gears and a 9-0 run put them up 70-59. They extended their advantage to 76-61 at one stage before the Mavs scored the final 6 points of the period to cut the deficit down to 67-76.
The Pacers got off to a dream start in the final quarter and an 11-2 run had them up 87-69 in no time. There was no looking back for them as they carried the momentum till the end. A Hibbert tip shot cemented their authority at 91-73 with 5:11 minutes to go. The Pacers completed the rout in style as they extended their lead to 20 by the end of the game, winning by 103-83.
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