By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off of Friday’s victory over the Hornets faced off with the Dallas Mavericks this afternoon. Both teams traded blows throughout this game, but the Sixers were able to hit enough shots in this game to beat Dallas 120-116, their first victory in Dallas since 2018.

The Sixers had a disastrous start to this game as their shots were not falling early in this contest and it affected them on defense as well. The Mavericks were able to shred the Sixers defense like a cheese grater for easy baskets. Before Philly could even settle into the game, they were down by 11 points. However, they made the defensive adjustments to slow Dallas’ explosive duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving down. That gave them enough time to find their offensive rhythm, and Tyrese Maxey went off in his return to his home city. He scored 17 of his 24 points in that period and his shot making stabilized the Sixers sputtering offense in that quarter. Without him Philly would have been blown off the court and the defensive attention he drew allowed his teammates to be able to cash in on the high percentage shots he created. This stretch without Joel Embiid has been big for Maxey he really has stepped up in the reigning MVP’s absence and has proven that he can be the number one option and franchise player when the time comes.

Despite the offensive explosion from Maxey Dallas continued to fight in this game. At one point they cut the Sixers 20-point lead to five points by the middle of the fourth quarter. The trio of Doncic (38 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 10 assists), Kyrie Irving (28 points), and Derrick Jones Jr (21 points) combined for 81 of Dallas’ 116 points and all three of them hit some clutch shots throughout that period to keep the Mavericks in this game. There was nothing Philly could do to stop these players. If they got them to miss one of them would grab an offensive rebound or create a high percentage opportunity for their teammates. The Sixers were able to put enough defensive pressure on them to finally force them into more difficult shots and limit them to one offensive possession. Additionally, a clutch corner three-pointer from Tobias Harris (28 points and made three/six three-pointers), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (21 points) finding his offensive stroke ended any hopes Dallas had in this game. This is the second straight game Harris has had a big impact on the game, whatever Joel Embiid said to him last week over the phone woke him up and that has been huge for Philly. If he can continue to score at least 20-plus points per game and continue to be the best defender on the court for the Sixers. They can survive this Embiid less stretch and continue to rocket up the standings in the loaded Eastern Conference.

Philly will now prepare for a Tuesday night matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. The Sixers will need to continue to play stifling perimeter defense like they did tonight. Their length clearly bothered the shooters of the Dallas Mavericks and forced them either into difficult shots or turnovers. If they want to slow Mikal Bridges down, they will need to keep as much length on him as possible to force him to either take difficult shots or to rely on his playmaking ability which is not there yet. Additionally, Philly will need to cash in on the high percentage shots created off their ball movement like they did tonight, when they can make their shots, they are one of the best offenses in the league. If they can implement these things into their game plan for Tuesday night, they can get their 36^th victory of the season.