Minus Ellis, Mavericks fall victim to Pacers’ strong finish
Their first game without the injured Monta Ellis didn’t go so well for the Dallas Mavericks.
While they discovered some offensive wrinkles that they might be able use in the future, none of those worked Sunday night when it mattered most as the Indiana Pacers eked out a pulsating 104-99 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
It was the Mavs’ ninth loss in their last 14 games and their fourth in the past five. It dropped them to 45-29 overall as they continue trending south in the Western Conference standings.
Dallas scored just 38 points in the second half Sunday, converting 16 of 44 shots. That spoiled a solid first half, which saw the Mavs shoot 52.2 percent and turn the ball over just four times en route to a 61-55 lead at the break.
But the Pacers turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, and without Ellis around to bail them out, the Mavs had no offensive answers during clutch situations.
“I thought we were fine there for a while,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 19 points and five rebounds. “But usually [Ellis is] our closer.
“He’s got the ball in his hands at the end a lot, and we definitely miss that. His attacking, his mid-range game off the pick-and-rolls, we definitely would have loved to have that down the stretch. But hey, we had guys step up.”
Chandler Parsons picked up some of the slack as he registered his third double-double of the season (27 points, 10 rebounds). But with the Mavs down 102-99 and a chance to tie the game, Parsons misfired on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Dallas Skyline High School product C.J. Miles closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds to go. He finished the night with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
“There were a couple of different options when I was taking the ball out,” Parsons said of his game-tying attempt. “But we had no timeouts left, so I just wanted to make sure I got a good look.”
Ellis had played in 237 straight games — including all 155 since he joined the Mavs in 2013. But the 10-year veteran shooting guard suffered a lower right leg injury during Friday’s 94-76 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Richard Jefferson started in Ellis’ place, and he scored just four points on 2-of-6 shooting. But Rajon Rondo, Parsons and Nowitzki combined to score 63 points on 26-of-47 shooting and help the Mavs keep pace with the Pacers.
Rondo collected 17 points and 10 assists while picking up his fourth double-double since he was traded to the Mavs on Dec. 18. A finger roll by Rondo tied the game at 97 with 2:20 remaining.
Roy Hibbert, however, hit a pair of free throws, Charlie Villanueva missed a wide open 3-pointer for Dallas, and a critical 3-pointer at the other end by Miles was the dagger that put the Pacers ahead 102-97 with one minute to go.
“The game got more physical, they did a better job defending, we had some more turnovers in the second half,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We had eight [turnovers in the second half] as opposed to four in the first half, and we didn’t execute as well.”
Parsons converted 11 of 20 shots, and Rondo was 8-of-14 shooting and also grabbed seven rebounds. The Mavs still finished the season 13-2 on the road against Eastern Conference teams, but got swept this season in their two-game set with the Pacers, who made 10 of 17 shots from 3-point territory Sunday.
“We scored close to 100 points, so it wasn’t the offense’s problem,” Rondo said. “It was finding the guys in transition and matching up and finding guys off the 3-point shot.”
It also was coming up empty during crunch time — a period that’s usually reserved for Ellis.
“Hey, I thought we battled our butts off,” Nowitzki said. “Overall, a couple of bounces here and there, a couple of less turnovers, we could have stolen the game.”
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published March 29, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Minus Ellis, Mavericks fall victim to Pacers’ strong finish."