INDIANAPOLIS — In the reunion that wasn’t, the Mavericks’ shooting woes were present — in season-worst form.
Dallas lost 106-93 to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where they shot 4 of 29 from three (13.8%) from three and tallied just 13 points in the fourth quarter.
While Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 49 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, the Mavericks’ other three starters — Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell — added just six total points.
Many looked forward to the matchup as an emotional, hyped clash between the Mavericks and former coach Rick Carlisle, who returned to the Pacers’ helm after resigning from his 13-year, championship-winning post in Dallas a week after the playoffs.
Instead, Carlisle watched from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and the Mavericks — whose offense operated at record-setting pace in Carlisle’s last couple seasons — struggled for consistent production outside the paint throughout the night.
The Mavericks learned of Carlisle’s positive test early Thursday afternoon while on buses from their hotel in Memphis to the plane for Indianapolis. Jalen Brunson saw a post on Twitter first and alerted teammates, who all started to check their phones.
“A little disappointed,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “I wanted to talk a little mess to him, say a little something to him. Especially if I hit a three or something, I was going to give him a little smirk or something because we spent a lot of time in the gym [together].”
Though Carlisle instead remained home, recovering from what Pacers acting head coach Lloyd Pierce said was a headache and typical cold symptoms, Indiana’s bench still featured connections to the Mavericks’ past.
And perhaps some extra inside information on Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porizngis and company.
Mike Weinar, who followed Carlisle to Indiana after 13 seasons in Dallas, led the pre-game film and game-planning session for the matchup and Jenny Boucek, a Mavericks assistant from 2018-21, sat next to Weinar during the game.
That meant they had a prime view of the Pacers outscoring Dallas 24-13 in the final period.
Dallas shot 46.4% from the field, and Doncic, who finished with a game-high 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, often drove to the basket and scored from the right with ease.
But subtract Porzingis’ consecutive 3-pointers on the Mavericks’ second and third shot attempts of the game, and Dallas shot poorly from deep.
Three nights after shooting 9 of 46 from three in a second-half collapse against the Nets, the Mavericks’ shooting woes resurfaced in season-worst fashion.
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