By james art 
Mavericks center Derek Lively II will get an MRI for a dislocated shoulder
Former GM Donnie Nelson’s lawsuit against the Dallas Mavericks has been dismissed
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and his predecessor, Rick Carlisle, texted each other regularly during the last postseason, when Carlisle’s Indiana Pacers raced to the Eastern Conference Finals and Dallas reached the NBA Finals.
Monday night’s Mavericks-Pacers election-eve event at the American Airlines Center brought Kidd and Carlisle together again, comparing the two opponents.
Intelligence but not strength of lineups, as injury-plagued Indiana went to small-ball extremes, playing five-out sets most of the night to earn a 134-127 victory against a rebuilding Dallas team the momentum of -season reinforcements led by Klay Thompson.
“I thought our defense was bad tonight,” said Luka Doncic, who finished with 34 points and 15 assists but shot 9 of 24. “There was a lot of speed in that game, so it was kind of tough going back-to-back. “
The game was tied at 116 with 4:46 left, but Indiana scored the next eight points against Dallas and its new Big Three, who combined for 77 points.
“How can you just go out and get an heir like that?” Carlisle asked. “They have three guys that I think are going to be in the Hall of Fame, with Luka (Doncic), Kyrie (Irving) and Klay. They have great firepower. Jason is doing a great job with this team.”
Carlisle, 65, showed his resourcefulness Monday night, using Bedford native Myles Turner (30 points, 11 rebounds) and a faster pace to take Mavericks starting center Daniel Gafford off the court, racing to a 15-2 lead .
“He played great,” Doncic said of Turner. “It looked like we couldn’t stop him. We should have done a better job. He wants to shoot. I think he’s from here so he wants to put on a show.
The Mavericks didn’t take their first lead until late in the second quarter, and the teams spent the rest of the game trading baskets and momentum, with Dallas getting a huge boost off the bench from Naji Marshall, who in one stretch of the second quarter scored 9 straight Mavericks points the way to 14 for the half – already his Mavericks are high to play. He finished with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, a bright spot on a lost cause night.
After falling to 4-3 overall, including 1-2 to start this five-game homestand, Dallas has struggled to regain the traction it found late last season and into the playoffs, especially at home, where Kidd says, that he was puzzled by the team’s lack of energy.
Speaking of last season’s playoffs, maybe Kidd should send Carlisle something extra with this year’s Christmas card.
Two humbling losses to the Pacers in eight days proved exciting for Dallas. A 133-111 win at Indianapolis on Feb. 25 snapped a seven-game Mavericks streak that began shortly before the deadline to acquire PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
Indiana’s 137-120 win at the American Airlines Center on March 5 prompted a Mavericks players-only meeting and resulted in Kidd inserting Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. into the starting lineup. Dallas won its next seven games and 12 of its next 13.
“After they had more reps, they got themselves together and went at it again,” Carlisle said. “So maybe we caught him at the right time.”
On Monday night, the Mavericks faced Indiana without backup center Derek Lively II, a late scratch after feeling discomfort in his right shoulder, which the Mavericks are calling a sprain.
Dallas had played the night before, beating Orlando by 23 points, but that was no excuse for coming up short against an Indiana team playing without Isaiah Jackson (torn Achilles), Aaron Nesmith (sprained ankle) and James Wiseman (torn Achilles).
Carlisle, of course, has plenty of insider knowledge about the Mavericks, having coached Doncic for three seasons and before that Kidd for five seasons in Dallas, winning the 2011 NBA championship.
“Rick is an extremely smart guy, not just basketball, but worldly, and he’s changed with the game,” Kidd said. “And so just understanding that you can play one way, but if your roster is built differently so you can turn around, he did.
“When he was coaching Dallas, I don’t think they ran as much as they did at Indiana. So the pace was a little slower because the line-up.’
Including 38-year-old point guard Jason Kidd?
“Slow and old, yes,” Kidd said with a smile.
During last year’s NBA Finals, after the Celtics eliminated the Pacers in the East Finals, Carlisle said The news that he believes the Mavericks have the weapons to upset Boston.
This season is only eight games in, but Carlisle sees similar potential for this Dallas team.
“I think the addition of Klay Thompson is a great acquisition,” he said. “And look, they have guys like PJ Washington, he’s like a top two player on a lot of other teams. Their bigs are developing and getting better and they just have a lot of depth.
“They have a great top 9 or 10 — and then they have strong reinforcements behind them.”
Photos: Luca’s 34 points, 15 assists not enough as Mavs lose 134-127 to Pacers
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.