Catch the game tomorrow at 9:30 AM, Manila time.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks aim revenge on the visiting Indiana Pacers, who routed them for 22 points just last week.

AWAY: Indiana Pacers (34-28, 14-16 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

• Tyrese Haliburton
• Ben Mathurin
• Pascal Siakam
• Obi Toppin
• Myles Turner

The Pacers have been atrocious over their last two games. They lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, 129-102, and the lowly San Antonio Spurs, 117-105. It also featured two of the worst performances from their All-Star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, which included laying an egg on the Pels. He only had a combined 12 points on 4-of-23 shooting in both contests.

It will now be interesting to see if they sink more or just catapult their play into a couple of levels. While they are concerning as of the moment, note that they handed a 133-111 beating on the Mavericks just 10 days ago, wherein seven Pacers reached double figures and the team collectively shot 55.9% from the floor. Haliburton had 17 points, 10 assists, and four steals, while big man Myles Turner poured in a season-high 33 points. 

Also, aside from the two are a handful of other guys who can also put points on the board, including former All-Star Pascal Siakam (20.8 PPG in 21 games as a Pacer), Ben Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin.

Even with the aforementioned two ugly games, Indy is still first in scoring (123.3 PPG) and second in offensive rating in the league.

HOME: Dallas Mavericks (34-27, 18-14 HOME)

Projected starting five:

• Luka Doncic
• Kyrie Irving
• Josh Green
• PJ Washington
• Dereck Lively II

After previously racking up seven consecutive wins, the Mavs have now lost four of their last five games, averaging 118.4 PPG and allowing a horrific 127.4 points across that span. Such isn’t a rhythm one would want when seeking revenge on a team that blew them out just recently, but at least they’ll be home tomorrow.

As always, stars Luka Doncic (34.5 PPG) and Kyrie Irving (25.7 PPG) will front the Mavs’ attack. However, they also hope to get some help from others. The two notched 33 and 29 points during Feb 26th’s 22-point loss to the Pacers, while the supporting cast only scored 49 in total, including a combined six from starters PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II.

Third scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. will be key since his inconsistency is affecting the flow of the secondary guys. He’s only chipping in 8.5 points on 32.1% shooting (27.7% from three) in his last eight. We’ll see if tomorrow’s the day he gets out of his funk.

PREDICTIONS:

Handicap: The Mavericks (-4.5) don’t cover teh spread.

Over/Under: The total goes over 246.