The Indiana Pacers defeated the visiting Dallas Mavericks, 130-121, in overtime at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
The Pacers (1-0) rolled out a new-look starting five that included offseason acquisitions Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young, as well second-year man Myles Turner as the new full-time starter at center. It was the latter who had the biggest impact in a back and forth contest, pacing all scorers with 30 points, and adding 16 boards, an assist, four blocks and two steals. The Mavs (0-1) countered with some clutch fourth-quarter play from their own key free-agent signing, Harrison Barnes, who capped off a 30-point fourth period for Dallas with a game-tying, 26-foot three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation. After a back-and-forth start through the first three-plus minutes of overtime, the Pacers pulled away in front of their home crowd largely on the strength of a pair of three-point buckets from Turner and Paul George, sealing the hard-fought victory.
Dallas was paced by Deron Williams, who supplied 25 points, seven assists, three rebounds and a block. However, the veteran guard was also guilty of six turnovers, the most of any player on either team. The ageless Dirk Nowitzki had a heady assist on Barnes’ game-tying three and registered 22 points, eight rebounds, two assist overall, two steals and two blocks. Barnes had a near double-double with 19 points and nine boards, while Wesley Matthews rounded out a successful night for the first unit with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. J.J. Barea played a robust 39 minutes off the bench, pacing the reserves with 22 points.
In addition to Turner’s breakout performance, the Pacers saw George chip in with 25 points, eight boards, and six assists, with the scoring total including a 4-for-5 tally from beyond the arc. Teague’s impressive Indiana debut included 20 points, eight assists, two rebounds and three steals. Monta Ellis touched up one of his former teams for 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Young pitched in with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
The Mavs head back to Texas for their home opener on Friday night against the in-state rival Houston Rockets, while the Pacers head north to New York for a Friday tussle with the Brooklyn Nets.
