Dallas Mavericks Given Slight Edge By Odds To Beat Stubborn Indiana Pacers

Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks — The Mavericks will try to end their losing woes when they visit the Pacers on Monday. Calling Our Shot/Twitter

KEY POINTS

The Mavericks are looking for a key win to get back into the play-in tournament race
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are expected to lead the Mavs
The Pacers will need to exert extra effort to pull off a win

The Indiana Pacers may hold home-court advantage against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, March 27, but they may need more to foil the visiting team.

The Pacers are set to host the Mavericks at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse with Dallas posing as a -1.5 favorite to prevail over Indiana.

Meanwhile, the Moneyline is -115 for the Mavericks while the Pacers are at -105 per USA Today.

Monday's matchup will be the second for both teams this month. In their previous encounter, the Pacers won, 124-122.

The two teams are coming off a string of losses, a reason why the clash is expected to be a tightly-knit affair.

For the Mavericks, they are on a three-game slide. Their last loss came at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets, 109-117.

Luka Doncic led the Mavs in that loss with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Kyrie Irving backed him up with 18 markers, nine caroms, and seven dimes.

"Just understanding the talk before the game of what we're playing for, for playoffs or a championship, and to come out in that first half but more or less the first quarter and give up 37, the interest level wasn't high," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said via ESPN.

Dallas is currently at the 11th spot and needs a win to get back into the hunt for a play-in slot.

Moreover, the Mavericks tote a 36-39 win-loss record, just a game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers who both sport similar 37-38 win-loss records.

The Pacers are also not doing that well as they have dropped their last two games, the last of which was a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Indiana lost despite the 33-point effort of Jordan Nwora coming off the bench. He also hauled down six rebounds.

Tyrese Haliburton chipped in 19 points and 13 assists, while Buddy Hield had 16 markers and five dimes.

"We gave up well over 30 a quarter," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said in a report by ESPN. "But it's not an excuse...We've got to be better than that."

The Mavericks and Pacers are expected to engage in a fierce battle as both teams try to get back on the winning track.

The tip-off is set for 7:00 PM ET on Monday, and the game will be telecast over NBA TV and fuboTV.