INDIANAPOLIS — Veteran forward Khris Middleton scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks to a 134-130 win over the Pacers on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers fell to 15-43, sitting alone in last in the Eastern Conference standings and next to last overall in the NBA standings ahead of only the Sacramento Kings. The Mavericks improved to 20-36.

Forward P.J. Washington scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Forward Naji Marshall had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Guard Max Christie had 16 points and center Marvin Bagley had 12 points and 11 rebounds. All-Star Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 30 points. Guard Andrew Nembhard had 22 points and 11 assists. Forward Jarace Walker had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, forward Kobe Brown had a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds and Ben Sheppard had 13 points.

Here are three observations.

Turnovers, poor defense keep Pacers from pulling off win

The Pacers got enough impressive offensive performances in this one to keep them within striking distance for the game’s entirety but they were never able to take control because they couldn’t get enough stops and committed too many turnovers, keeping with recent trends.

The Mavericks shot 54.3% from the floor (51 of 94) and scored 64 points in the paint with 14 second-chance points, getting far too many easy ones around the rim. They also scored 19 points off the Pacers’ 16 turnovers while the Pacers scored just 10 points off the Mavericks’ 11 giveaways.

The Mavericks were without rookie sensation Cooper Flagg, but veteran forward Khris Middleton was particularly deadly, putting together a vintage performance with 25 points on 11 of 15 shooting including 3 of 5 from 3-point range to go with seven rebounds and seven assists. The Mavericks finished with 1.23 points per possession.

Pascal Siakam gets back in the lineup

The Pacers gave Pascal Siakam the first two games after the All-Star break off as he missed Thursday’s game against the Wizards for personal reasons and Friday’s game with left hamstring injury management. He got back on the floor rested up on Sunday and showed the same form that led to his election for his fourth All-Star Game, even in painful season for the Pacers.

Siakam scored 30 points on 12 of 19 shooting including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, cracking the 20-point mark for the 41st time in his 52 appearances this season and over 30 points for the 11th game. He has scored in double figures in all 52 games he’s appeared in. He also finished with eight rebounds and three assists.

Kobe Brown scores career-high

The Pacers haven’t put newly acquired center Ivica Zubac on the floor yet thanks to a left ankle sprain — and they’re probably not in a rush to considering their place in the standings and the reverse standings. But newly acquired forward Kobe Brown is getting far more action than he got with the Clippers this season prior to the trade and he is making the most of it.

Brown scored a career-high 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He also grabbed seven rebounds. He has scored in double figures in three straight games and has played at least 18 minutes in each of the five games he’s played with the Pacers. He averaged 2.9 points per game in 8.7 minutes per game for the Clippers this season and appeared in just 34 of the Clippers’ 50 games while he was on the Los Angeles roster.

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Mavericks: Pascal Siakam is back but Indiana loses to Dallas