Game No. 14.
Mavericks at Indiana Pacers
(6 p.m. Wednesday, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM (Univision 1270 AM, Spanish)
About the Mavericks (6-7): They are on a three-game losing streak for the first time this season. You have to go back to March 18-21, 2019, to find the last three-game skid they had . . . The Mavericks once again could be without Josh Richardson, Maxi Kleber Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell, all sidelined for the last five games for COVID-19 safety protocols, although Richardson appears to be nearing his return after returning to Dallas from his Denver isolation . . . Jalen Brunson missed four games, but returned Monday in the 116-93 loss to Toronto . . . The Mavericks are a respectable 18-20 all time at Indiana, including last season’s 112-103 victory. Luka Dončić missed that game with a sprained ankle, but Kristaps Porzingis had 38 points and 12 rebounds to pick up the slack . . . Porzingis has played four games since returning from knee surgery and had 23 points and nine rebounds Monday against the Raptors . . . The Mavericks hope for a bounce-back game from Tim Hardaway Jr., who went 0-for-12 from the field against the Raptors after missing Sunday’s game against Chicago with a strained groin muscle. Before the injury, Hardaway had been rolling, averaging 23.4 points and hitting 26-of-50 3-pointers in the previous five games . . . The Mavericks have slipped from third to fifth in defensive rating during their losing streak . . . The Las Vegas oddsmakers are divided on whether the Mavericks will break their losing skid. The Pacers are only a one-point favorite.
About the Pacers (8-5): They wrapped up a four-game trip on Sunday with a 129-96 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. They went 2-2 on the trip, winning at Golden State and Portland . . . The Pacers are hurting. They were involved in the big James Harden trade, but their big catch in that deal, Ceris LeVert, is out indefinitely after an unidentified mass was found on his kidney . . . T.J. Warren (foot) and Jeremy Lamb (knee) both are out and big man Myles Turner (hand) is day-to-day . . . Big man Domantas Sabonis is off to a torrid start in the Pacers’ first 13 games, averaging 21.7 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He also leads the league in minutes played at 37.5 per game. In the last five games, he’s averaged 15.2 rebounds . . . Point guard Malcolm Brogdon is averaging 22.2 points and 7.5 assists, but his biggest contributions come from the 3-point line, where he’s drilling 43.3 percent of his tries. And he takes a lot of them (39-of-90) . . . This is the start of a four-game home stand for the Pacers . . . Coach Nate Bjorkgren is a disciple of Toronto’s Nick Nurse and Mavs’ coach Rick Carlisle said the Mavericks can expect to see a lot of the gimmick defenses that the Raptors used to stymie Luka, who said he saw nothing but Toronto jerseys anytime he tried to penetrate into the paint.
Twitter: @ESefko
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