Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 24 points as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Indiana Pacers 121-105 on Friday in Indianapolis, but the victory was overshadowed by a left shoulder injury to Cooper Flagg.
With 59.7 seconds left in the second quarter, Aaron Nesmith challenged Flagg’s dunk attempt from behind, sending him sprawling. After a review, Nesmith was assessed a flagrant-1 foul.
Naji Marshall rushed in and shoved Nesmith, and both players were assessed technical fouls. Dallas carried a 77-43 lead into the locker room, but Flagg, who had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists, did not return for the second half due to left shoulder soreness.
P.J. Washington added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, while Max Christie scored 16, Naji Marshall had 15 and Zaccharie Risacher contributed 11 points.
Pascal Siakam paced Indiana with 23 points and Tyrese Haliburton, who missed all of last season after tearing his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, added 18 points in his first home game in 490 days.
Andrew Nembhard scored 16 points, Obi Toppin contributed 13 points and Ivica Zubac had 11 rebounds.
Dallas built a 30-17 lead on a 14-2 run, capped by Irving’s layup with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Irving and Flagg hit back-to-back threes, giving Dallas a 43-25 lead as the first quarter wound down.
Dallas extended its lead to 50-31 when Marshall stole the ball from Siakam and fed Risacher for a one-handed dunk with 7:55 left in the second quarter. The Mavericks eventually stretched the margin to 30 points during a 15-0 run.
Toppin’s three-point play capped an 8-0 Pacers run that cut their deficit to 85-62 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
Toppin’s dunk cut the deficit to 106-90 with 7:38 remaining, and Haliburton’s jumper trimmed it to 118-105 with 1:56 left.
Dallas finished without Irving, who fouled out with 4:23 remaining.
