The Dallas Mavericks play host to the Indiana Pacers at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

The Pacers (34-28) enter this matchup losing three of their last four games. Giving up 129 points to the New Orleans Pelicans was tough but losing to a 12-win San Antonio Spurs team was embarrassing. Victor Wembanyama single-handedly killed the Pacers in that game, but the struggles of Tyrese Haliburton is really worrying fans. He shot 4-of-16 from the field in that defeat and went scoreless in the loss against New Orleans. He was one of the best players in the NBA through the opening three months, but something has changed since the All-Star break. This club needs him to play at an All-Star level if they're going to avoid the Play-In Tournament. They currently sit eighth in the Eastern Conference but are within 2.5 games of the New York Knicks in fourth.

The Mavericks (34-27) have hit a wall recently, entering this matchup losing four of their last five fixtures. That poor stretch has really hurt their playoff hopes because they could be in the Play-In Tournament is the struggles continues. The Mavs sit eighth in the Western Conference after that poor stretch but are just two games back of the New Orleans Pelicans in fifth. They'll also have to battle the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings ahead of them, while the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are just 1.5 games behind. That means a ton can change over the final month, and it'll be interesting to see where this new-look Mavs team ends up. As long as Luka Doncic keeps playing at an MVP level, Dallas has as good of a chance as anyone.

These teams played just two weeks ago, with Indiana prevailing, 133-111. These teams have traded off wins and losses in their lats five matchups.