Nearly 38 minutes is a substantial workload on any NBA night. It says more when the player carrying it must alternate between finishing possessions and helping create them for teammates whose availability keeps changing.
That was Max Christie’s job Friday, and he handled enough of it to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-105. Christie played 37:52, scored 16 points and added four assists as Dallas absorbed Cooper Flagg’s departure before halftime and Kyrie Irving’s eventual exit with six fouls.
The Mavericks had built a huge cushion by the break, but Christie’s value was helping the offense remain usable after its preferred arrangement began to disappear.
The first-quarter play-by-play offered a neat glimpse of the exchange. At 10:14, Christie drove for a layup with Daniel Gafford supplying the assist. Seventeen seconds of game time later, at 9:57, Christie made another running layup, this one set up by Flagg.
The plays were close together on the clock, though the Dallas possessions were not identical: Gafford supplied the pass on one Dallas possession. Flagg then collected a defensive rebound and assisted Christie on the next scoring trip. Christie was receiving creation from two different teammates and converting both chances.
He returned that favor. Christie assisted Flagg on a 23-foot three-pointer late in the first quarter, found P.J. Washington for a third-quarter layup and set up Naji Marshall’s driving floating shot in the fourth.
Four assists are not a gaudy total, but the sequence of contributions sketches a useful role. Christie could finish when the opening appeared and move the ball when another Maverick had the better avenue. Dallas did not need him to impersonate a primary star; it needed him to keep possessions from becoming isolated errands.
Dallas needed that flexibility before halftime ended. Flagg scored 14 points, collected five rebounds, delivered six assists and made all four of his free throws in 17 minutes. After a late-second-quarter sequence involving Aaron Nesmith’s flagrant foul and a review, Flagg was no longer part of the rotation.
The basketball judgment stops there: Dallas lost a productive young creator after he had helped build a 34-point halftime lead.
Irving presented a separate problem. He scored 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, made five of his 10 three-point attempts and went 3-for-3 at the line. But six fouls reduced him to 24:55 and kept him from finishing. With Flagg unavailable and Irving unable to stay on the court, Christie’s long shift became less decorative and more functional.
