DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks were defeated by the Indiana Pacers 134-127 on Monday night. It was the second of a back-to-back for Dallas, and they fell just short against Indiana in the game. Luka Doncic and Bennedict Mathurin were seen exchanging words toward the end of the fourth quarter, and Doncic addressed the encounter while speaking to reporters following the Mavs' defeat.
“He started talking s**t with one minute to go,” Doncic said. “I just said if you’re going to talk s**t, start early.”
In the end, the Pacers earned the victory. Doncic feels that Mathurin should have started “talking s**t” earlier in the game if he was going to trash-talk Doncic and the Mavericks. Nevertheless, Luka Doncic and Dallas will move forward in hopes of bouncing back on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls.
On Monday, Luka led the Mavericks with 34 points on 9-24 shooting from the field and 4-10 shooting from beyond the arc. The Slovenian added 15 assists and three rebounds.
In the end, the Mavs' offense did more than enough to keep the game competitive. The defense, however, was lackluster. Dereck Lively II was ruled out before the game due to a shoulder injury which certainly played a role in Dallas' defensive woes. Still, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the game that the team needs to offer more energy while playing at home.
Again, the Mavericks have an opportunity to rebound on Wednesday evening against the Bulls. They will attempt to improve their record to 5-3 with a victory. It has been a fairly inconsistent beginning to the 2024-25 campaign, so staying above the .500 mark will be important.
The good news is that Luka Doncic is starting to find his rhythm after a slow start to the year. It goes without saying, but the Mavs are a better team when Doncic is on top of his game.