• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Surging Mavs kick off brief homestand against Pacers

Mar 4, 2011 - 4:06 PM (Sports Network) - The Dallas Mavericks are the hottest team in the NBA right now and will start a quick two-game homestand tonight versus the Indiana Pacers from American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks have won seven in a row and completed a perfect three-game road trip with Tuesday's 101-93 win at Philadelphia. Despite making 13-of-24 free throws and losing center Tyson Chandler early on to an ankle injury, the Mavericks improved to 17-1 in their last 18 games.

Dallas, which is seeded second in the West behind Southwest rival San Antonio, got a season-high 30 points from Jason Terry in a reserve role and All-Star Dirk Nowitzki added 22 and six rebounds. Jason Kidd registered the 107th triple-double of his career with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. He also had three steals against the 76ers and needs two more to pass Gary Payton for third all-time. Shawn Marion collected 10 points and 10 boards for the Mavericks, who have scored 100 or more points in 16 of 17 games, going 33-2 when reaching the century mark.

"Terry had a great game," Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. "He gave us a real lift in the first half and then in the second half down the stretch. He kept answering and it was key for us."

Terry is a big reason why Dallas' bench is averaging 50.5 points per game over the last 17 games. The Mavs will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line tonight and are 22-8 in Big D this season. Memphis is also scheduled to make a stop in Dallas on Sunday.

Chandler is expected to miss tonight's game and is averaging 10.4 points and 9.4 rebounds this season.

Indiana will resume a three-game road trip tonight and started the trek on the wrong foot, dropping a 113-89 decision at Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Tyler Hansbrough had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Danny Granger had just nine points for the Pacers, who have lost three of four games and fell to 10-6 under interim head coach Frank Vogel. Roy Hibbert had nine points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause.

"We couldn't make shots, we couldn't stop them and we couldn't rebound," said Granger, who played a season-low 18 minutes.

The Pacers are fighting for a playoff berth and sit eighth in the Eastern Conference standings -- one game ahead of Charlotte. They will close out the road swing in Houston on Saturday and own a 10-19 record away from Indy.

Indiana pulled out a 102-89 win over Dallas on Jan. 12 this season at Conseco Fieldhouse, as Brandon Rush scored a game-high 20 points in that one. The Pacers ended a five-game slide in the series, but the Mavericks are 9-2 in the previous 11 meetings between the teams.

The Pacers have lost six straight and 10 of their last 11 games in Big D.