INDIANAPOLIS _ The Mavericks' injury concerns were apparent before facing the Pacers on Monday night.
Star 20-year-old Luka Doncic suffered a right ankle sprain in practice Thursday and coach Rick Carlisle had already ruled him out this week. Sharp-shooting guard Seth Curry felt tightness in his left knee Saturday in Dallas' win over the Hawks, and he didn't make the one-game trip, either.
The issues worsened when J.J. Barea left in the second quarter with a left ankle sprain.
But thanks to the Maverick whose injuries are typically the bigger focus, Dallas won, 112-103.
Kristaps Porzingis set a new high in scoring with the Mavericks, tallying 38 points, 12 rebounds and a steal. He shot 50% from the field (10 of 20), connected on 6 of his 13 three-point attempts and hit all 12 of his free throws.
Dallas improved to 17-7 on the road.
"I don't know that we haven't not skipped a beat (in Doncic's absence)," Carlisle said. "But if you have depth and you have guys that are capable to step into enhanced roles and you got a group of guys that understands the importance of basic execution ... you've got a chance.
"One of the things when you put a roster together, you want to get high character guys that are into winning and into being part of the team. We've got good guys, so we're trying to slug it out."
The Pacers' lineup dealt with injury problems, too.
T.J. Warren, who's averaged over 18 points a game this season, suffered a concussion Saturday in the Pacers' loss to the Knicks.
And Victor Oladipo returned just last week from missing a calendar year with a ruptured right quad tendon. Indiana coach Nate McMillan said two-time All-Star Oladipo wouldn't return to the starting lineup until at least a few more weeks, even though Warren's absence Monday opened a spot.
The Pacers entered the game having had players miss a combined 137 games to injury _ trailing only the Warriors and the Raptors across the NBA.
The missing contributors in each rotation reflected what Carlisle called the "dog days" of the NBA season, in the midst of three straight months of play before the All-Star break next week.
But Porzingis _ two days after sitting out for load management against Atlanta _ showed little sign of wear en route to another dominant performance without Doncic in the lineup.
The 24-year-old said he didn't feel "amazing today, physically" but perhaps that helped him focus from the start, as he made a season-high five 3-pointers on seven attempts in the first half and led all scorers with 19 points by halftime.
He also showed physicality on a few drives to the basket, at point pushing past Euless Trinity High School graduate and Indiana center Myles Turner to draw a foul and frustrate Turner so much that officials called him for a technical.
Porzingis sank all three free throws.
The performance came two games after Porzingis scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a loss to Houston, one of his finest games in Dallas.
"No matter who is out," Porzingis said, "we have a guy ready to go."
The Mavericks' injury woes left Carlisle to get creative at points throughout the game. Tim Hardaway Jr. (25 points) and Dorian Finney-Smith (15 points) joined Porzingis in double figures and eight players saw at least 13 minutes on the court.
"They come in and it's next-man-up mentality and they're playing good, solid basketball together," McMillan said. "It's not a huge change other than when (Doncic's) in the lineup he plays with the basketball a lot more. When he's out of the lineup, they're moving it around."
It's not clear when Dallas' piecemeal approach will subside. Doncic won't return for Wednesday's home contest against the surprise-playoff-contender Grizzlies, and Carlisle didn't have an update on Barea after the game, though Barea was walking in the locker room and said he'd be "fine."
Carlisle said before the game he wasn't sure the extent of Curry's knee tightness but "the hope is that this is a short-term thing." Curry had indicated a few weeks ago his knee was bothering him, and Carlisle wasn't sure when in the fourth quarter Saturday the issue returned.
"Little tweaks can happen," Carlisle said, "and hopefully it's a little tweak."
