The Pacers sent the Mavericks on a three-game losing streak 137-120, and the team continued to hold on to the eighth spot in the East without falling out. The Mavericks have been in poor form lately, and their current record has slipped to eighth in the West, only 0 percent short of the ninth-placed Lakers5 wins. In other words, if the Lakers win the Kings tomorrow, the Mavericks will fall out of the top eight, and the Lakers will enter the eighth. After the big deal was completed, the Mavericks had a new look as a whole, but after a wave of winning streaks, it seemed to be back to square one.
One of the most criticized is defense, and after the All-Star break, the Mavericks ranked last in the league in defensive efficiency. In fact, the Pacers have played quite poorly in the past period, and their offense and defense are not good. After Siakam joined, he and Haliburton were not very compatible, and the team's record declined significantly. As a result, the Pacers still scored 137 points against the Mavericks, which can already show that the Mavericks' defense is bad, and there is no hope of winning the championship with this defense.
The Pacers played extremely easily in this game, and the Mavericks felt okay at the beginning, relying on Doncic to lead the team in tandem, Washington attacked under the basket, and Irving pulled away. The Mavericks used to have the advantage, but the Pacers were stronger overall, and compared to the Mavericks, who were highly concentrated in possession, the Pacers were all soldiers. They played a dream tandem in the first quarter to take a 35-32 lead. In the second quarter, the two sides were still difficult to solve, pulling the tempo to the highest speed, and the Pacers had a slight lead at halftime, and the Mavericks were completely relying on Doncic to resist.
It wasn't until the second half that the Mavericks couldn't hold back, and the Pacers came up and played a wave of 15-4 to open the gap instantly. Turner, Haliburton and Sika went all out, and Mathurin on the bench was even more invincible, plus Shepard Smith and McConaughey, the Pacers finished the Mavericks with bench depth, and the Pacers basically played a 32-18 game in the third quarter. In the final quarter, the Mavericks chased the score strongly, although the Pacers did not prevent Doncic and Irving from playing alone, but the offensive Mavericks could not prevent them, so they continued to attrition, and the Mavericks disarmed and surrendered.
The Pacers worked hard throughout the game, Haliburton 19 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists finally played an okay game, Siakam played a small game with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, Turner 20 points, Toppin 14 points, Mathurin off the bench 19 points, Smith 11 points, McConaughey 13 points, Shepard 12 points. On the Mavericks' side, Doncic had 39 points, 10 boards and 11 assists, Irving had 23 points and 7 boards but a plus/minus of -20 and was the team's bottom, Washington tried his best to get 20 points and 7 boards, and only Gafford was okay off the bench, he got 16 points, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks, but Kidd didn't give him too many opportunities.
If the Mavericks are squeezed out of the top eight this year and then don't make the playoffs, I think we can really test the fact that only Shuangzhan can drive Irving. One Harden, one James. When Irving and James teamed up to win the championship when he was with the Cavaliers, it was the highlight of his career, and then he cooperated with Harden with the Nets to lead the playoffs steadily. But by the time the Mavericks arrived, he and Doncic ran out of power. Sitting on a combination of Irving and Doncic, which didn't make the playoffs? It can only be said that Owen is like a sharp sword, but not everyone can use it.
This is also the reason why Lao Zhan always wanted the Lakers to take him when Irving forced the Nets, because Irving could play his value in his hands. Of course, the Mavericks' loss is good news for the Lakers, and it's simply a godsend to the Lakers. The Lakers have been in good form in recent times, with a 10-4 record in 14 games, which has greatly improved both offense and defense. And in terms of starters, the Lakers have run in a set of the strongest five. A lineup of Davis, James, Hachimura, Reaves and Russell. In the second half of the season, the Lakers are very hopeful to go further, barely reaching the playoffs last year and reaching the Western Conference finals, and this year's top four in the West really hope that the Lakers will not be in eighth and seventh, because it is really difficult to play.
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