3 Heroes and 2 zeroes from Mavericks' humbling home loss to Pacers

The Dallas Mavericks entered Monday night's matchup against the Indiana Pacers coming off their biggest win of the season as they defeated the Orlando Magic by 23 points on Sunday night, and they needed a win over Indiana to remain positive in the five-game homestand after starting 1-1.

After coming out of the gates extremely slow and trailing 15-2 in the first quarter, Dallas was able to battle all the way back and make it a game by halftime.

The Mavs trailed 63-59 at halftime, and they were able to make the adjustments necessary to come back and compete, but they couldn't gain enough traction to get the win as the Pacers won 134-127.

3 Heroes and 2 zeroes from Mavericks' humbling home loss to Pacers

Dallas couldn't stop Myles Turner as he finished with 30 points, and the Mavs' nightmares against bigs who can shoot continued.

The Mavs were within striking distance of the Pacers, but not enough went right for them to claw out a win.

Hero - Luka Doncic

After vowing to start games better after Dallas' loss to the Houston Rockets last week, Luka Doncic has been able to take control of these games better early and look more like himself.

Doncic finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, 15 assists, and two steals, and his aggressiveness down low helped set the tone for him for the rest of the game. He was 12-15 from the free throw line in the first half, and he was drawing fouls whenever he wanted to.

This was easily Doncic's best passing game of the season, but his finishing still hasn't been at the level that we know it can be at.

Zero - Dereck Lively II's injury

Less than an hour before the game started, Dereck Lively II was ruled out for the game with a shoulder sprain that he suffered in warmups. This injury couldn't have happened at a worse time, as Lively II was hitting his stride as an excellent sixth man off the bench, and he and Daniel Gafford were a deadly one-two punch at center. Doncic referred to these two as "monsters" after the win over Orlando on Sunday night, and now the Mavs could be without one of these monsters for some time depending on the severity of Lively II's shoulder sprain.

Lively II's importance to the team is extremely high, as he seems to always make the right play and plays as hard as anyone, and Dallas will have to find production elsewhere if he misses significant time.

It doesn't help that Maxi Kleber is already hurt, and Dwight Powell will need to provide positive minutes behind Gafford in Lively II's absence.

Hero - Naji Marshall

Over the last two games, Naji Marshall has shown exactly why the Mavs signed him to a three-year deal in free agency. Marshall has been handling the rock with confidence, getting to the rim, and playing lockdown defense, and we finally got to see him sink his first 3-pointer of the year as well.

Marshall finished with 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, and one steal while shooting 8-9 from the field and 2-2 from downtown, and his momentum from Sunday night overflowed into this game. His slashing to the rim was excellent, and his confidence in the two threes that he made was promising. None of his looks from downtown were the best until the Pacers game, and he proved that he can drill open threes when given the volume.

Marshall is quickly emerging into the team's X-factor off the bench, and they'll need more of these big games from him as the season goes on. His impact goes way beyond the stat sheet, and his value to this team goes up by the game.

Zero - Daniel Gafford

The Mavs losing Dereck Lively II to injury before the game began was not ideal, and none of Dallas' bigs were able to make much of an impact on the floor. In 15 minutes of action, Gafford finished with eight points and four rebounds.

Dallas went away from Gafford to begin the second half as they went with a small-ball unit, and even though he didn't get a ton of touches, the Mavs need more production out of their starting five considering how thin the Pacers' center rotation is looking right now due to injuries.

Dallas' struggles against floor-stretching bigs was exposed against the Pacers as Myles Turner dominated, and Gafford wasn't able to close out quick enough to make some of his looks from downtown tougher.

This was just a bad matchup for him to begin with, and he'll have the chance to bounce back against the Chicago Bulls in a few days,

Hero - Spencer Dinwiddie

After the preseason, Spencer Dinwiddie was looking like someone who may struggle to get minutes at all in the regular season due to his early struggles. His efficiency looked like it was going to be an issue, and Jaden Hardy outplayed him handily.

That has not been the case in the regular season though, as Dinwiddie has consistently been one of the first players off the bench and provided a big spark against the Pacers.

Dinwiddie finished with 14 points and three rebounds, and his 3-point shooting remained solid even with tough contests by the Pacers. He has been excellent in his minutes when playing next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and these types of games are what make him so valuable.