The Sixers faced Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks in their final scrimmage game Tuesday night and it was a barn-burner. The two teams faced off with the intensity NBA fans have been waiting six months for in what was a fitting finale to the NBA 2020 scrimmages.
Sixers Scrimmage Recap
First Half
Before the game, Brett Brown stated that for the team, the game would start and end defensively. That’s not exactly how it went. The Sixers struggled to contain the Mavericks offense, especially, Kristaps Porziņģis. The Sixers had no answer for the Latvian Laser and didn’t have much more luck initiating their own offense.
Starting the game 3-20 from the field, the Sixers were far from automatic and every shot seemed to come up short. Harris, Simmons, Horford, no one could find the bottom of the net and the Sixers were hurting for it.
In the second quarter the Sixers, namely Tobias Harris, found their offensive bearings. While Harris finally found success, the rest of the team was not so lucky. Ben Simmons was still struggling from the field and couldn’t get a call to go his way.
Not known for their defense, the Mavericks looked like Bill Russell’s Celtics holding the Sixers to 39 first-half points. The Sixers were dominated for the majority of the half and somehow the only reason they were still in the game was their three-point shooting. The Sixers shot over 38% from three but struggled in the paint, especially getting to the line, initially attempting five free-throws to the Mavericks’ 17.
There were few positives for the Sixers in the first half but Tobias Harris finding his shot was huge.
Second Half
The Sixers came back in the second half with a vengeance. Swapping Ben Simmons for Matisse Thybulle, the Sixers had a rhythm they had not seen in the game. The team even managed to take the lead just two minutes into the second half.
Luka Dončić would come alive though and will his team back as the two squads began to battle it out in the match-up we expected. Harris and Dončić going nearly shot for shot, the two teams went at it like it was a playoff game.
In a familiar story the Sixers held a large lead and the bench squandered it leading to them working from behind in the final minutes. The game looked to be all but over if not for some heroics by Mike Scott.
Sixers Scrimmage Overtime
After Scott’s clutch shot the Sixers were ready for five more minutes of basketball. With a lineup of Burks, Thybulle, Korkmaz, Scott, and O’Quinn. By all accounts, it looked as though Brett Brown was trying to win this game.
Alec Burks was essentially the Sixers offense in the overtime period scoring eight of their 12 points in OT. The Mavericks went with a small lineup and were able to outmaneuver the Sixers’ more “traditional” squad.
Final Score: Mavericks 118 – Sixers 115
Takeaways listed on the page below.
