The Dallas Mavericks entered Monday night's matchup against the Indiana Pacers after picking up their biggest win of the season on Sunday night when they defeated the Orlando Magic by 23 points, and they needed a win over Indiana to stay ahead after starting at home five games to stay positive 1-1.

After coming out of the gates extremely slowly in the first quarter and trailing 15-2, Dallas managed to fight back by halftime and improve the game.

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

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 things weren't going well enough to secure a win.

After vowing to start games better following Dallas' loss to the Houston Rockets last week, Luka Doncic was able to control those games better early on and look more like himself.

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

This was by far Doncic's best passing game of the season, but his finishing still wasn't at the level we expect.

Less than an hour before the game began, Dereck Lively II was ruled out of the game due to a sprained shoulder he suffered during warmups. This injury couldn't have happened at a worse time, as Lively II came into his own as an excellent sixth man off the bench, and he and Daniel Gafford delivered a deadly one-two punch in the middle. Doncic called those two “monsters” after Sunday night's win over Orlando, and now the Mavs could be without one of those 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 always seems to make the right play and plays just as hard as anyone else, and Dallas will have to find supplies elsewhere if they miss a lot of time.

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

Over the last two games, Naji Marshall has shown exactly why the Mavs signed him to a three-year deal in free agency. Marshall handled the ball confidently, got to the rim and played lockdown defense, and we finally got to see him sink his first 3-pointer of the year.

Marshall finished the game 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 carried over into this game. His drive to the rim was excellent and his confidence in the two three-pointers he made was promising. Until the Pacers game, none of his looks from downtown were the best, and he's proven he can make open threes at the right volume.

Marshall is quickly becoming the team's X-factor off the bench and they will need more of these big games from him as the season progresses. His impact goes far beyond the stats and his value to this team increases every game.

The Mavs' loss of Dereck Lively II to a pregame injury wasn't ideal, and none of Dallas' big players were able to make much of an impact on the field. In 15 minutes of play, Gafford ended up with eight points and four rebounds.

Dallas left Gafford early in the second half as they ran a small-ball unit, and while he didn't get many touches, the Mavs need more production from their starting five considering how thin the Pacers' center rotation is looking currently due to injuries.

Dallas' problems against big teams were highlighted against the Pacers as Myles Turner dominated and Gafford couldn't finish quickly enough to challenge some of his plays from downtown.

This was just a bad game for him from the start, and in a few days he'll have a chance to bounce back against the Chicago Bulls.

After the preseason, Spencer Dinwiddie looked like someone who might struggle to get any minutes in the regular season due to his early struggles. His efficiency seemed to be an issue, and Jaden Hardy clearly outperformed him.

However, this was not the case during the regular season as Dinwiddie was consistently one of the first players off the bench and provided a major spark against the Pacers.

Dinwiddie finished the game with 14 points and three rebounds, and his 3-point shooting remained solid even amid tough struggles from the Pacers. Playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, he excelled in his minutes, and those types of games are what make him so valuable.