DALLAS _ After the Mavericks' last possession Sunday against the Pacers fizzled with two missed three-point attempts from Luka Doncic, a troubling trend for Dallas re-emerged.
The Mavericks' 112-109 loss to Indiana marked another series of lapses in clutch situations.
Dallas didn't score a point in the final 3:14 of the game and didn't record a field goal in the final 4:40.
The loss dropped Dallas to 3-13 in games within one point in the final minute. That .188 winning percentage is an NBA-worst mark.
That Oklahoma City _ which entered Sunday one loss better than the Mavericks in the Western Conference standings _ beat the Celtics, 105-104, on the same night only served to exacerbate fans' frustrations with Dallas' close-out abilities.
"When you struggle during a stretch at the end of the game, you can come up with a lot of reasons and a lot of excuses and stuff," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "I just don't think we can do that. I think we all have to own it. We have to look at it objectively, see what we can do better and then simply do better."
The Mavericks' woes in the clutch _ what the NBA defines as games within five points in the final five minutes _ appeared to ease last Wednesday against New Orleans, Dallas' first overtime win in four tries this season.
But Sunday against Indiana, the Mavericks didn't have an answer for the Pacers' late surge.
After Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a layup to put the Mavericks ahead, 108-104, with 4:40 remaining, Dallas missed its last 10 field-goal attempts.
Doncic finished his 36-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist game with five missed field goals, including three from behind the arc. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a layup attempt blocked by Victor Oladipo and then missed a corner three. Maxi Kleber, Kristaps Porzingis and Courtney Lee all missed 3-point attempts, too.
Dallas' only point in that stretch came on a Doncic free throw with 3:14 remaining.
Indiana finished on an 8-0 run in the last 3:04. Oladipo recorded six of his 16 total points, including the go-ahead basket with 38.3 seconds remaining and two free throws inside the last 15 seconds to cushion Indiana's advantage.
"Just weren't making shots," Porzingis said. "We got some decent looks. ... It be like that sometimes. You just don't make shots, and as I said, it came down to those shots and those situations, but there's so many other things that could've went better during the game."
Had the Mavericks held off the Pacers to win, they would've moved into a tie for the sixth seed in the West with the Rockets, who suffered a 126-106 loss to Orlando on Sunday night.
