12-31-2015, 03:26 AM
INDIANAPOLIS -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle provided a spark, and his team played just as he hoped. Mitch Morse Youth Jersey . Monta Ellis had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 points as the Mavericks handed the Indiana Pacers their third home loss of the season, 81-73 on Wednesday night. "Coach got on us pretty good this morning," Nowitzki said. "I thought we responded. We battled them and tried to make it tough on them." The Mavericks (32-22), who have won six of seven, finished a three-game road trip heading into the NBA All-Star break. Dallas five-game winning streak was snapped at Charlotte on Tuesday. "It wasnt that we didnt respect Charlotte," Carlisle said. "Its that we had such great respect for Indiana. We knew we were going to have to play at a super high level." It wasnt easy for either team. Dallas won despite its second-lowest point total this season. The NBAs highest-scoring team netted only 80 points in a loss to New York on Jan. 5. The Mavericks came out on top by holding the Pacers to a season-worst 32.1 per cent shooting. George Hill had 14 points, and Lance Stephenson and Danny Granger both scored 13 for the Pacers (40-12), who have lost two of three. "They beat us at our game," Hill said. "They played well tonight and we just didnt play good enough. We gave one away. Its unfortunate, but its over now." The Mavericks outscored the Pacers 21-11 in the final quarter and scored the first six points of the fourth. Dallas took a 66-62 lead when Ellis made a free throw with 6:55 remaining. Brandan Wright scored, Ellis made two more free throws, and Wright made a layup to give the Mavericks a 72-66 edge. Ellis made a 3-pointer early in the second half to give the Mavericks a 46-42 lead. West hit a jumper, Samuel Dalembert also scored, and Hill sank a 3-pointer to make it 48-47. Paul George scored to give the Pacers their first lead of the second half, 53-52, with 6:12 left in the quarter. Indiana built its edge to 60-55, but Dallas scored five straight to tie it with 2:20 remaining in the third. Pacers coach Frank Vogel reminded his team leading up to Wednesdays game that the All-Star break didnt begin until after Indianas meeting with Dallas. "I wanted to make that clear to all of our guys," Vogel said. "Weve got work to do. We want to go into the break ahead 3 1/2 games." The Mavericks spoiled that for the Pacers. Indiana outshot the Mavericks in the fourth quarter, but Dallas pulled away by making 13 of 16 from the free throw line. Hill scored late to make it 74-68, but Ellis made a pair of free throws. Stephenson scored on a lay-up, and George grabbed a steal and later hit a 3-pointer to make it 76-73 with 37 seconds remaining. Ellis scored four straight points from the line to give the Mavericks an 80-73 advantage. "We were able to make just enough plays," Carlisle said. "It was just a very competitive game from start to finish. There was a lot of attitude in the game, which is great. We were able to get out of here alive." The Mavericks are already looking past the break, and things wont be any easier then. Dallas will hosts the Miami Heat in the first game after All-Star weekend. NOTES: Indiana had 10 offensive rebounds and scored a season-low four second-chance points. . The last time the Mavericks won in Indianapolis was November 2009. . Mavericks guard Gal Mekel was out after having right knee surgery. . Dallas guard Devin Harris didnt play because of knee and ankle injuries. ... The Pacers committed 20 turnovers and fell to 5-4 when they have at least 20. Frankie Hammond Youth Jersey . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008. Paul Fanaika Chiefs Jersey . Uruguays soccer federation said it planned to appeal the ban, which prohibits striker Luis Suarez from all soccer activities for four months. The ban also covers Uruguays next nine international games, which rules him out of next years Copa America.The (29-26-7) Winnipeg Jets host the (27-26-6) Tampa Bay Lightning in a 7:30pm ct faceoff tonight at MTS Centre. TSN 1290s coverage begins with Hustler & Lawless live from the Exchange Restaurant at 4pm ct. Rick Ralph hosts the official Jets pregame show at 6:30pm ct. Shane Hnidy joins me in the broadcast booth for the play-by-play. Ondrej Pavelec starts his fourth consecutive game in goal for the Jets after making 50 saves in Tuesdays 5-4 overtime loss to Philadelphia. Head Coach Claude Noel told TSN 1290 he may dress seven defencemen and 11 forwards which means he is making a game-time decision between forward Antti Miettinen and defenseman Mark Flood. If Miettinen plays, it will be his 500th NHL game. Eric Fehr will be a healthy scratch. He has not played in five of the last nine games. Jets Projected Lines: Ladd-Little-WheelerKane-Burmistrov-WellwoodGlass-Slater-ThorburnStapleton-Antropov-Miettinen Enstrom-ByfuglienOdduya-HainseyJones-StuartFlood Blake Wheeler (one goal and eight assists), Evander Kane (four goals and three assists) and Dustin Byfuglien (one goal and six assists) are on a four-game point streak. Chris Conley Youth Jersey. Bryan Little (four goals and two assists) and Andrew Ladd (three goals and two assists) have points in three straight games. Winnipeg has a 2-1 record against Tampa Bay this season, outscoring them 7-4. The Jets have scored on their last five straight power plays. Mathieu Garon starts in goal for the Lightning who are riding a three-game winning streak. Garon has started six of the last seven games. Lightning Projected Lines: Purcell-Stamkos-St. Louis Malone-Thompson-Hall Smith-Pyatt-Wyman Angelidis-Shannon-Connolly Brewer-HedmanClark-GilroyMikkelson-Gervais Steven Stamkos (five goals and three assists) and Teddy Purcell (two goals and four assists) are on three-game point streaks. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '