Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving combine for 78 points, erase 13-point Pacers lead in 125-122 Mavs' win

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving exploded for a combined 78 points to erase a 13-point Pacers lead and give the Mavericks a 125-122 win at the American Airlines Center on Monday night.

The Pacers fell to 3-8 with their second straight loss. The Mavericks improved to 7-4.

Flagg posted 43 points on 16 of 25 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out six assists. Irving scored 35 points and hit on 7 of 10 3-pointers. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 29 points, 26 coming in the first half. Aaron Nesmith scored 18 points, cener Ivica Zubac had 16 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 14.

Here are three observations.

Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving go berserk on Pacers

The Pacers corrected a lot of their problems from Saturday’s loss to the Nuggets. They had a much stronger first-half performance. They shared the ball, shot it reasonably well and fought on the defensive end. But they simply had no antidote for one of the most potent starting backcourts in the NBA on a night when both of its members were sizzling.

Irving and Flagg, both former No. 1 picks out of Duke, hit inferno levels against the Pacers and produced more than half of the Mavericks’ total production. They combined for 78 points on 27 of 43 shooting including 10 of 16 from 3-point range.

Flagg, the 6-9 wing functioning as a shooting guard — and a great one — scored 43 points on 16 of 25 shooting, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, and also hit 8 of 8 free throws. He added 10 rebounds and dished out six assists. Irving, the 15-year veteran and nine-time All-Star, had a vintage performance that showed little evidence of his ACL tear last year. He finished with 35 points on 11 of 18 shooting including a shimmering 7 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Pacers hung around long enough to have a chance in the final minute, but late buckets by Flagg put the game away. He answered three Aaron Nesmith foul shots with a critical jumper to put the Mavericks up four with 1:02 to play. Then after a Nesmith 3-pointer, he hit a jumper on offensive rebound by Naji Marshall off Marshall’s own missed free throw to put the Mavs up three with 26 seconds left. Two key free throws by Irving helped the Mavericks put the game away.

Pascal Siakam brilliant in first half, swarmed in second

With Tyrese Haliburton still out, the Pacers have been in need of something next level from Siakam to carry the squad. He’s been solid throughout the Pacers’ tough start and entered Monday averaging 21.4 points per game on 51.7% shooting, but he hadn’t scored 30 points since the season opening win over the Pelicans and had only surpassed 25 points twice all season. It was even more imperative because they were up against Irving and Flagg.

Siakam certainly gave the Pacers everything they could have asked for in the first half. He hit his first eight field goals and his first five 3-pointers before finally missing a heat-check 3 in the final minutes of the second quarter. At the break he had 26 points on 8 of 9 shooting, six rebounds, four assists, no turnovers and no fouls, posting a +15 plus-minus figure in just 16 minutes of game action. In the second half, however he was swarmed with constant double and triple teams and scored just three points on 1 of 7 shooting.

Kelly Oubre Jr. gives one of his best efforts

The Pacers have been waiting for a breakout game from off-season free-agent signing Kelly Oubre Jr. as he entered Monday’s game averaging just 8.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, shooting 41% from the floor and just over 23% from 3-point range. There’s still certainly another level the Pacers would still like to see, but Monday’s performance was a step in the right direction on both ends.

The long-armed 6-8 wing scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting including 1 of 3 from 3-point range. He had two rebounds but also gave the Pacers a defensive option off the bench they could use on Irving, Flagg and others.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving combine for 78 points, erase 13-point Pacers lead in 125-122 Mavs’ win