Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May is seen during a warm-up before a preseason NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
INDIANAPOLIS — Dusty May sat at the podium for his postgame news conference with water dripping from his dark brown hair.
The Mavericks coach was minutes removed from being showered by his players with a large bucket of ice water inside the visitor’s locker room of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, a celebration of his first NBA coaching victory.
May’s Mavericks spoiled Tyrese Haliburton’s first regular season home game in 490 days with a 121-105 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
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Mavericks insider Mike Curtis breaks down the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers, their first of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Mike Curtis, The Dallas Morning News
As a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, which is about 77 miles west of Indianapolis, the victory was a full-circle moment for the University of Indiana graduate who grew up a big fan of Pacers legend Reggie Miller.
But on his biggest night since he was named coach of the Mavericks, May flipped the attention toward his team and their ability to bounce back from a difficult season-opening loss in Houston.
“This is a business trip,” May said. “I know we had a lot [of friends and family in attendance] and I saw some familiar faces as I was walking out. We try to get these guys to not think about themselves quite as much. This isn’t about me. It was about our group coming in here and figuring out a way to be better and competing like crazy.”
The Mavericks improved to 1-1 behind 24 points and three assists from Kyrie Irving and a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds from P.J. Washington. Both players provided a significant boost for the Mavericks once Cooper Flagg left the game with left shoulder soreness. There were also significant contributions down the roster. Max Christie added 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Flagg had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists before his injury.
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Several of the Mavericks embraced May once the final buzzer sounded to congratulate him on his latest milestone, including Irving, who praised his new coach’s direct approach after the game.
“I think Dusty falls in line with some of the great coaches that I’ve played for in terms of just the confrontation that’s needed after games, whether it’s wins or losses, including after practice,” Irving said. “We’ve only had two games together, but in practice he’s very confrontational and we need that in order to get the best out of each other.”
As a student manager at Indiana, May would take advantage of last-minute ticket offers from Pacers executive assistant Susie Fischer.
“I jumped in the car and I’d drive up, not even knowing where they were,” May said during his pregame news conference. “I remember being a little kid in the old arena, and we came up for a little baseball game, and I think our backs were touching the wall at the top. I remember the Steve Stipanovich, Vern Fleming days and I grew up a big Reggie Miller fan.”
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May has plenty of experience as a collegiate head coach, known most for leading Michigan to the national championship earlier this year, but he’s still new to the NBA. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle won a championship as coach of the Mavericks in 2011, and even after over 1,000 wins in the NBA, he says there’s always something new to learn.
“The lessons go on, even when you get a quarter century into it. I could tell you that,” Carlisle said before the game. “Dusty’s an amazing coach. One of the best coaches in the world. He proved that last year. He’s gonna mold this team into a team that has the identity of his Michigan teams, I think. I see a lot of similarities. They’re disruptive. They’re long. They’re athletic. They play free. He really empowers his best players. They’re gonna be very good.”
The Mavericks played with a level of intensity that made them unrecognizable from the team that scored 12 points in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Houston. On Friday, they exploded for a 44-point first quarter and followed that up with 33 in the second quarter. They played with a level of discipline throughout the night, evidenced by their low turnover count of 14 compared to Indiana’s 19.
Dallas also tightened up on defense, limiting the fast-paced Pacers to just 12 fastbreak points after giving up 19 to the Rockets. May was pleased with his team’s intensity from the opening tip.
“I thought that was the biggest difference,” May said. “Our competitive spirit was off the charts tonight against a team that’s going to be in contention to win the Eastern Conference. More than anything else, I didn’t put a lot of thought into [his homecoming] because I’d be thinking about myself.”
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May received the game ball from his players during his postgame speech as he was drenched from head to toe. He chuckled when asked if the ice bath was the reason why his hair looked different.
“I haven’t had a cold bath in a few days,” May said.