The Dallas Mavericks (11-18) fell to the Philadelphia 76ers (16-11) on Saturday night, 121-114. Tyrese Maxey went off for 38 points as the Sixers hammered Dallas in the final quarter. Cooper Flagg and
Anthony Davis each scored 24 in defeat for the Mavericks.
The two teams opened the game in back-and-forth fashion, with the Sixers pushing the pace on Dallas at every chance. Early in the quarter, it did not pay off; Philadelphia missed more than a few great looks in transition. Dallas took an early 13-8 lead. But the Sixers kept coming and the Mavericks turned it over far too often. VJ Edgecombe went to work on Max Christie later in the period, scoring on a number of tough jump shots. The Sixers built up a double-digit lead and seemed ready to run away with the game. But Philadelphia made some bizarre mistakes down the stretch and Dallas was able to make it respectable, converting both transition baskets and free throws. The Mavericks ended the quarter down 38-33.
In the second period, Dallas decided to get their turnover problem under control and bit by bit, the Mavericks chipped into the Sixer lead. Dallas finally took the lead back on an awesome Cooper Flagg drive and finish, only for the Sixers to take it right back. The turnover bug bit Dallas again in the quarter and Philadelphia built back up a nine-point lead. The teams went to halftime with Dallas down 68-62.
Dallas came out cooking in the second half and jumped on the Sixers by scoring 10 straight points. And though the Sixers were able to score in the frame, the Mavericks really punished Philadelphia all period. The Mavericks ended up out scoring the Sixers 35-23 in the quarter and Dallas entered the fourth up 97-91.
But then the three point defense shooting luck Dallas experienced throughout this game came to a crashing halt. The Sixers hit three in the first two minutes of the quarter and the Dallas defense disintegrated. The Sixers put the pressure on Dallas in transition and built up a 115-104 lead with around 6:30 to play. Though Dallas got the lead down to seven, they were unable to make it an official clitch game despite plenty of opportunity until David hit a lay up with 35 seconds remaining. The Mavericks lost to the Sixers 121-114.
Getting crushed on offensive boards and turnovers is annoying
The Mavericks wins as of late have happened in no small part because they’ve done a very good job not turning the ball over. Dallas gave the ball away 18 times tonight and gave up 23 points (and really, it should’ve been more). The Sixers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn for most of the game but stayed alive because of those points off turnovers and because Dallas wasn’t boxing out and securing rebounds. The Sixers secured 20 offensive rebounds and took 19 more shots against the Mavericks.
Dallas got lucky against Detroit on Thursday; they gave up so many offensive boards the Pistons took 33 more shots than Dallas. Rebound the damn ball guys. It’s an effort and awareness thing more than it is a skill thing.
Primary ball creators matter
Look, I’ll eat crow in the long run if Ryan Nembhard becomes a regular rotation player for Dallas in the long run, but for now he’s playing above his weight class handling the primary ball handling duties for the Mavericks. He’s good! Really good! He’s also not Tyrese Maxey level good. Now, you may think that’s not fair, but as Dallas begins a long road back to contender status, having a true power guard is going to matter a great deal.
Kyrie Irving CAN do this. He’s quite good at it, absurdly good, All-NBA good. But I think given his age, asking him to do that full time when he’s back from the ACL injury isn’t fair or even the best use of his magical abilities. He’s a scalpel, not a sword. And I believe the Mavericks need a sword for a primary ball handler.
And you saw this tonight in the fourth quarter where the 76er guards simply took the game over. Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and Edgecombe ate Dallas alive. Threes helped, but the pace of play the Sixers played with all game put Dallas firmly on their heels. The Mavericks were still in this one, of course, but the Mavericks got out-talented just so in certian position battles and you can see it in the box score.
