Indiana Pacers Fall to Dallas Mavericks 106-98

Oct 12, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Watson (32) dribbles as Dallas Mavericks guard Jameer Nelson (14) defends during the game at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas, TX – The Indiana Pacers were looking to improve to 2-1 in preseason action this evening against the Dallas Mavericks, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Both teams fought hard to the very end, but Dallas made a big run with excellent three-point shooting in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 106-98 victory. Indiana gave Roy Hibbert, George Hill, and Rodney Stuckey the night off, and have to be happy with their performance despite not having those three key players.

There were quite a few positives to see for the Pacers, but there were also quite a few negatives. A lot of the negatives will improve with time and more action on the court, but there are some concerns that will have to be proved wrong by individual players. That being said, tonight was still only the third preseason game, and it’s too early to overreact to anything.

C.J. Miles led the Pacers in scoring with 19 points on 7-13 shooting, including 3-7 from behind the three-point arc. Seeing him score the ball like that is extremely encouraging for the Pacers, as that is expected to be their biggest issue. C.J. Watson also had a big game coming off of the bench, scoring 16 points on 5-8 shooting and 4-7 from behind the arc, while also dishing out five assists.

Donald Sloan scored 12 points in the game, while Lavoy Allen came through with yet another nice game in the starting lineup with 10 points and eight rebounds. Chris Copeland started and ended up hitting two threes, and Luis Scola (8), Solomon Hill (7), and Shayne Whittington (6) were the other main scorers off of the bench. Whittington seems to be a great find for the Pacers, and could see some playing time this season if Ian Mahinmi continues struggling as badly on offense as he has through his first two preseason games.

Both Dirk Nowitzki and Charlie Villanueva led the Mavericks in scoring with 16 points apiece, and backup point guard Gal Mekel came off the bench to score 11 points and dish out five assists. Villanueva and Mekel were the two key players in the game down the stretch of the fourth quarter when Dallas pulled away and won the game. Richard Jefferson (13), Chandler Parson (11), and Ricky Ledo (10) were the other double figure scorers for the Mavericks.

Indiana now looks ahead to their next preseason test against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.