The Dallas Mavericks fell short on Tuesday night, losing to the Indiana Pacers 137-120. It was an offensive-dominated game for both sides, as Indiana led 74-70 at the half. In fact, Luka Doncic had 28 points before the half all on his own.
Dallas' defensive struggles dominated the postgame conversations, and Doncic was asked about the Mavs' defensive woes following Tuesday's defeat.
“Since the beginning of the game,” Doncic responded when asked when the defensive problems began. So how can Dallas fix their defense amid recent struggles?
“I don't know honestly, but we know we gotta fix it.”
He later added that on the defensive end Dallas “needs to do something better.”
Luka's blunt message speaks volumes. Dallas features more than enough offensive talent and potential to find success down the stretch, but it won't matter if they can't get enough stops.
On Tuesday, the Mavs performed fairly well on the offensive end of the floor. Doncic led the way with 39 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving added 23 points and seven rebounds, while PJ Washington Jr. scored 20 points and recorded seven rebounds. Daniel Gafford also brought a lot of energy and finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
In the end, Dallas shot 48.4 percent from the field. However, they struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 33.3 percent of their long balls. That was certainly not their primary issue in the game, though.
Mavericks' defensive frustrations
Dallas has improved defensively since the trade deadline. They displayed signs of being a respectable defensive team during their seven-game winning streak. But the Mavericks are now just 1-5 over their past six games and defense has been one of the primary reasons for their struggles.
The Pacers, who it should be noted feature a powerful offensive attack, shot 53.8 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from deep. They were connecting from beyond the arc and finding the bottom of the net near the basket all night long. Dallas did not seem to have much of an answer.
Tyrese Haliburton was consistently finding his teammates throughout the clash. He knew that battling Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavs would be a challenge, but Haliburton did what it took to lead his team to the win. Haliburton finished the game with 19 points and 11 assists.
Myles Turner looked unstoppable at times in the post as well. He ultimately finished with 20 points to lead Indiana.
Luka was impressed by Indiana's “pace” Tuesday.
“Their pace I think,” Doncic said of what makes the Pacers difficult to defend. “They are one of the fastest pace in the league, they just get out and run. I don't think they run many plays, they just go at it.”
Luka Doncic trying to lead Mavericks out of slump
Doncic is doing everything he can to help his team. He's still unquestionably in the MVP conversation.
Right now, though, Dallas needs to step up on defense. Otherwise, developing consistency will prove to be an immense challenge. Luka made an interesting admission when asked about the impact of playing good defense.
“I mean, it was way easier to play basketball. It was easier to get wins. It was just easier and we were having a lot of fun. When we get stops we have a lot of fun… So it's easy on offense too.”
If the theme wasn't clear already, Luka doubled down on it when asked what he plans to do differently on Wednesday to prepare for Thursday's clash against the Miami Heat.
“We gotta play better defense.”
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks will look to accomplish that goal on Thursday against the Heat at 7:30 PM EST in Dallas.
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