Dallas Mavericks in free fall: another Luka Doncic triple-double for nothing

Wednesday, 06 March 2024 at 06:17

After some green shoots after the All-Star break, Dallas Mavericks are going through their worst moment of the season and yesterday lost at home against Indiana Pacers 137-120 despite an extraordinary game by Luka Doncic.

The Slovenian genius finished the game with 39 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. But it was useless. Jason Kidd (for a long time) has not been able to find the right key and the Extenders were clearly outplayed by the Pacers, who imposed their offensive rhythm and did not need the best version of their stars to win.

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Myles Turner was the top scorer with 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton had a better game than lately with 19 points and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam had 13 points and 13 rebounds. For the Mavs, besides Luka, Kyrie Irving's 23 points and PJ Washington's 20 points were useless. If you go out on the court without a defensive plan you end up losing, even more if your offensive plan is to give balls to Doncic and play little inside.

Thus, the Dallas Mavericks are one jump away from the last two playoff spots in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors hot on their heels. The Pacers, meanwhile, are still fighting for sixth place in the East;