Mavericks 81, Pacers 73: Monta Ellis recorded 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists to help Dallas hand Indiana a rare home defeat in a defensive struggle.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points for the Mavericks, who won six of their last seven entering the All-Star break. Dallas shot just 35.7 percent from the field but limited the Pacers to a season-low 32.1 percent mark and forced 20 Indiana turnovers.

George Hill led the Pacers with 14 points while Lance Stephenson and Danny Granger had 13 apiece. Leading scorer Paul George was limited to 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting as Indiana set a season low for scoring and fell to 25-3 at home.

Nowitzki had 10 points as Dallas secured a 44-42 lead at halftime and neither team led by more than five points in the third, which ended with Indiana on top 62-60. The Pacers went more than seven minutes without a point in a futile stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters, falling behind 66-62 midway through the final stanza.

George tied it moments later before the Mavericks put together an 8-0 burst that included two baskets by Brandan Wright. Indiana, whose previous low for points this season was 82, pulled within 76-73 with 37.3 ticks remaining before Ellis nailed four straight free throws to ice it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Mavericks PG Devin Harris sat with a knee injury. ... Pacers F David West, who finished with 12 points, was whistled for a technical foul for getting into it with Nowitzki in the first half. ... George is 8-for-27 from the floor in his last two games.