The Philadelphia 76ers came in their Sunday matinee against the Dallas Mavericks hoping to build upon the win they got Friday night in Philly against the Hornets. The 76ers are fighting to stay afloat while their MVP continues to rehab from his knee surgery. The Sixers have been in a tailspin since the end of January and need to pick up as many wins as possible.
The Mavericks came into Sunday’s matchup losers of three of their last four, including a blowout loss against the Celtics in Boston. The Mavs are also fighting for positioning in the Western Conference to stay out of the play-in tournament and get into the playoffs.
Sixers/Mavericks game recap
The first quarter started slow for the Sixers, who missed their first six shots, and the Mavericks built an 11-0 lead before head coach Nick Nurse called the first timeout. Buddy Hield was able to uncork the lid for the Sixers after the timeout, and Maxey began a first-quarter scoring tear.
Tyrese Maxey was able to get anywhere he wanted on the floor in the first quarter and killed the Mavs with his speed getting to the rim or his floater. He scored 17 points in the quarter and Nurse had him play the entire first period, riding his hot hand to a 10 point lead after one.
The second quarter started with Maxey on the bench, and the Mavericks went on a run of their own to help cut the lead down to two points. Both the Mavericks’ stars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving made their presence known early on to force another timeout from Nick Nurse.
Tobias Harris was able to help stabilize the group on offense in the second by scoring 12 of his 14 first-half points and keeping the group afloat until Maxey returned to the court. With some solid defense and just enough offense, Philly was able to go into halftime with a five-point lead.
The third quarter started with the Sixers capitalizing on some missed shots and turnovers by the Mavericks and pushing their lead to 15 points. Their early damage came from Tobias Harris, who took advantage of his opportunities from deep. Tyrese Maxey slipped late in the third quarter and took an incidental knee to the head from Mavs’ forward Derrick Jones Jr and had to be helped to the locker room. With Maxey on the bench, Kelly Oubre Jr. got eight straight points to end the quarter to keep the lead to double digits.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Sixers were able to build their lead to as much as 17 points, even with Maxey not scoring. It all but seemed like a win until the Mavericks made a late push to make the game interesting and get into double digits. Tobias Harris hit two clutch baskets to keep Dallas at bay and lock up a 120-116 victory. The Sixers were paced by Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey (24 points). The Mavs were led by their superstar Luka Doncic (38 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists).
Back to back
Tobias Harris was in one of the worst stretches in his career and losing confidence fast. After a nice bounce-back game against the Hornets, scoring 31 points, he followed it up with another good performance against Dallas. Harris started slow but caught fire in the second quarter and from there showed up exactly how the the team needed him to. He took advantage of some of his mismatches on the block, attacked the rim hard, and shot his open threes.
Harris ended the night with 28 points and five rebounds to put together consecutive good performances and hit a big shot to help seal it for the Sixers late in the fourth quarter. They will need him to continue these types of performances so they don’t only depend on Maxey to lead them offensively.
Tsunami waves
Kelly Oubre Jr has been on a bad streak of his own, but he was being overshadowed by Harris’ woes. He started the game coming off the bench and forcing shots. In the third quarter, he came in late and took over offensively.
Oubre scored eight straight for the Sixers after Maxey went to the locker room after a head injury, hitting the Mavs with a wave of offense. He continued his offensive spark in the fourth quarter and helped along with Harris to get the Sixers a tough win on the road. Oubre had his best performance in a while, scoring 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Earning his keep
Paul Reed came off the bench for the second consecutive game after starting since Joel Embiid went down with an injury. He has had some good performances as a starter but seemed to begin to be overextended as a starter. Nick Nurse and the staff started Mo Bamba, and maybe it is to get Reed back into his role as a backup. He still played in the guts of the game and provided the Sixers with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
