Mavs start rugged road trip against four Eastern Conference teams

 INDIANAPOLIS – After spending this past Thursday knocking off the highly-regarded Phoenix Suns – a team some experts have representing the Western Conference in this season’s NBA Finals — the Dallas Mavericks will spend the next week matching wits with a few of the top teams the Eastern Conference has to offer.

And it all starts Sunday at 4 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse when the Mavs (33-23) have a matinee game against the Indiana Pacers (32-25). As of now, the high-scoring Pacers have the seventh-best record in the East and have won five of their last seven games.

After playing Indiana, the Mavs will battle the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Tuesday, and the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday in the second end of a back-to-back. The four-game road trip ends with a Friday game in Boston against the Celtics before the Mavs return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on March 3.

The Cavs (36-19) have the second-best record in the East and the sixth-best record in the entire NBA, and the Celtics (44-12) are owners of the league’s best record, which also includes a league-high 26-3 record at home. So, to say the Mavs will be severely tested over the next week is a major understatement.

However, the Mavs have acquitted themselves very well away from American Airlines Center. The Mavs have 15 road wins and only 10 losses this season. The only teams in the whole NBA with fewer road losses are Boston and Cleveland with nine apiece.

Entering Sunday’s game, the Mavs have pieced together a seven-game winning streak. That ties for the longest streak of wins for the franchise – they last accomplished this feat from Dec. 21, 2022-Jan. 2, 2023 – over the past 12 seasons.

On how the Mavs can build off their 123-113 win over the Suns, forward P.J. Washington said: “Just keep going. This is only one game. Obviously, we have a bigger goal in mind.

“It’s obviously onto the next game and go from there – win-by-win and keep stacking them.”

The fact that the Mavs are nearly completely healthy has played a big role in the team’s success. So, too, has the acquisitions of Daniel Gafford and Washington earlier this month.

The Mavs’ 7-0 winning streak started immediately when Kyrie Irving returned on Feb. 5 after missing six games with a sprained right thumb. And the Mavs are a perfect 4-0 since Gafford and Washington played their first game with them on Feb. 10 – a 146-111 blowout victory over the highly-touted Oklahoma City Thunder.

“We have a lot of guys that are really good,” Washington said. “Everybody is on the same page. The main goal for us is to win games, and you can tell how everyone is for each other.

“Everybody has the right mindset and everybody is locked in. When you get that, you get wins. Obviously, you got to keep that going.”

*With the 41 points he scored Thursday against the Phoenix Suns, Mavs All-Star point guard Luka Dončić has 11 games this season where he’s scored at least 40 points. That’s more than any player in the NBA. Dončić also has six games this season where he’s scored at least 40 points and distributed at least 10 assists. Atlanta’s Trae Young and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton – each with two such games — are the next players behind Dončić with that precious stat line. Since he joined the NBA in 2018, Dončić has 19 games where he’s scored at least 40 points and handed out at least 10 assists. That’s more than any other player during that span, and the Mavs are 16-3 in those games.

*This is the second of a four-game home stand for the Pacers. They opened the home stand with Thursday’s 129-115 win over the Detroit Pistons. The home stand continues for Indy with a Monday game against Toronto and a Wednesday contest against New Orleans. Then, the Pacers will start a three-game road trip Friday in New Orleans, March 3 in San Antonio and March 5 in Dallas.

*Luka Dončić finds himself right smack in the thick of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race. And that’s thanks to the incredible numbers he has manufactured this season. Dončić currently leads the league in scoring (34.3 ppg), is second in three-pointers made per game (3.9), third in assists (9.6), seventh in steals (1.5) and also is shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from behind the three-point line.

*Following a 32-point showing in last Sunday’s NBA All-Star game on his home floor, Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton tallied 25 points

and collected 13 assists during Thursday’s victory over Detroit. That’s the 15^th time this season Haliburton has produced at least 25 points and 10 assists in a game. Haliburton averages 21.9 ppg, leads the NBA in assists (11.7), and also is shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point territory.

*Mavs guard Kyrie Irving poured in 29 points in Thursday’s win over the Suns. He now has scored at least 25 points in the past four games. For the season Irving is averaging 25.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.4 apg and 1.3 spg, while also shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and a robust 42.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

*Besides Haliburton, the run-and-gun Pacers get the lion’s share of their offense from Pascal Siakam (21.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Euless Trinity High School product Myles Turner (17.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg) and Bennedict Mathurin (14.1 ppg).

*With their offense running crisp, the Mavs pumped in 19 shots from three-point land against the Suns. They also are 10-1 this season when they drop in at least 19 three-pointers in a game.

*The offensive-minded Pacers lead the NBA in scoring (123.8 ppg), assists (31 apg) and field goal shooting (50.8 percent), and also rank fifth in three-point shooting (38.2 percent).

*The Mavs’ defense is suddenly rounding into shape. During their seven-game winning streak, the Mavs have held each of their opponents to under 115 points. That’s the first time this season the Mavs have gone seven straight games while holding each foe under 115 points.

*Mavs guard Dante Exum is listed as out of Sunday’s game with bursitis in his right knee. Exum hasn’t played since he scored nine points in 27 minutes during the 148-143 win in Atlanta on Jan. 26. Luka Dončić, Dereck Lively II and Maxi Kleber are all listed as probable with a broken nose. For the Pacers, Aaron Nesmith is out with a right ankle sprain, and Jalen Smith is questionable with low back spasms.

DALLAS MAVERICKS (33-23) at INDIANA PACERS (32-25)

When: 4 p.m., Sunday

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

TV: BSSW

Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @DwainPrice