Morez Johnson Jr. Questionable, Caleb Martin Available For Dallas Mavericks vs. Indiana Pacers
DALLAS — Monday’s injury report for the second night of the Dallas Mavericks’ home back-to-back lists rookie Morez Johnson Jr. as questionable against the Indiana Pacers with a left shin/tibia contusion. He was not on it Sunday, when he came off the bench for 4 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist in 19 minutes, 9 seconds of a 130-93 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Dallas ruled out Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), Sergio De Larrea (right knee sprain), and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery). Since his Oct. 28 season debut, Caleb Martin had been listed as available with a right thumb sprain before every game. Monday’s report lists him with a right thumb splint instead.
Kyrie Irving and Santi Aldama are off the report. Irving sat the second night of Dallas’ only other back-to-back. Aldama is set for his third game in four nights after making his Mavericks debut Friday.
Morez Johnson Jr. Questionable, Caleb Martin Available
Lower-leg soreness limited Johnson early in training camp, Mavericks coach Dusty May said in September. After starting at center in his NBA debut in Macao, Johnson missed the next two preseason games with right shin splints. A shin injury had him listed as questionable again before the Oct. 24 game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Friday against the Utah Jazz was the first time this season Johnson played more than 18 minutes, and he finished with 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. He entered Sunday averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.8 minutes. Dallas drafted him ninth overall in June, a day after hiring May, who had coached him to a national championship at Michigan.
Sunday was Johnson’s 10th NBA game, and his 10th off the bench. Afterward, he said the league requires him to be very intentional.
“Physically, fast pace,” Johnson said. “[Got to] be very intentional. You don’t get days where you like get like a full practice in. You just got to be very locked in mentally.”
Martin has started each of the last two games and three of the last four. His running 22-footer off a feed from Irving, 21 seconds in, was Sunday’s first basket, and he finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 19 minutes, 13 seconds.
Irving’s uncertain availability factored into the decision to start Martin, May said after the game.
“We tinkered with a number of different guys in that spot,” May said. “And we just felt like with our team, especially on nights Kyrie’s not playing, and we don’t know exactly when those are going to be. We thought Caleb gives us the best chance to be elite defensively, and from a toughness standpoint, and we also felt like the other four guys are scoring at a high clip. That we needed someone to kind of give themselves up and connect the group by also still being a threat.”
Martin missed Dallas’ first four games with the sprain and is averaging 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in six games since.
Irving, Daniel Gafford, and Martin did not play in the fourth quarter Sunday, and no Maverick logged more than 29 minutes. Brooklyn’s bench scored 31 points to Dallas’ 58. Afterward, May singled out Aldama, Walter Clayton Jr., Naji Marshall, and Zaccharie Risacher for getting it going late.
“So, as we know, with back-to-backs in these games, these road trips, we need as many live bodies as possible,” May explained. “And then we just got to go with whoever has it going that particular night, and figure out a way to win each and every game.”
Tarik Biberović, Sergio De Larrea, Dereck Lively II Out As Indiana Pacers Visit
Biberović will miss his 11th straight game to open the season. His last game action came off the bench in the Oct. 11 preseason win over the Houston Rockets in Macao. Before Dallas hosted Houston on Oct. 30, May said Biberović was “getting very close” to returning. The Mavericks signed him July 10.
De Larrea is out for the seventh straight game. He hurt the knee early in the second quarter Oct. 26 at the Miami Heat when he fell trying to catch an inbound pass. Two days earlier, with Cooper Flagg and Irving both out, he scored 21 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 33 minutes against San Antonio.
Lively has not played since Nov. 21, 2025, and Monday will be his 11th straight absence this season. He appeared in seven games last season and averaged 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists before season-ending surgery that December, the third operation on his right foot within a calendar year.
Indiana (3-7) lost 114-102 to the Denver Nuggets in Mexico City on Saturday. The Pacers ruled out Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain), Johnny Furphy (right ACL repair surgery), and Ben Sheppard (left meniscus surgery). T.J. McConnell, who made his season debut in Mexico City, is questionable with a right hamstring strain.
A 22-6 run in the first quarter of the Oct. 23 meeting in Indianapolis put Dallas up 44-27 after one, and the Mavericks won 121-105 behind 24 points from Irving. Playing at home for the first time since he tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
KFAA and MavsTV carry Monday’s 7 p.m. CT tip-off at American Airlines Center. Dallas visits the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday before a weekend back-to-back at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday and the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
