DALLAS, TEXAS — After having success on the road last week, since the Mavericks have returned home, they’ve struggled and tallied another loss losing to the Sixers at home 113-95.
Before tip off it was announced that Kristaps Porzingis would miss the game missing the second night of a back to back, but good news followed with Dallas announcing that JJ Redick would be making his debut with the Mavericks after being sidelined due to an heel injury which he’s been nursing since he was traded before the deadline.
Dallas started the first quarter with a solid pace cashing on their first three shots from the field. Dorian Finney-Smith found early success in the first quarter knocking down two of his signature three point shots and was responsible for 6 of the Mavericks 10 opening points to take their first lead. Luka Doncic became the main catalyst as the Mavericks pace began to slow and the production from the other players slipped dramatically. Doncic scored on 3 out of 5 of his shot attempts from the field in the first quarter in comparison to the rest of the team that shot 36% from the field on 5 of 14 shooting. The offensive struggles combined with the Sixers converting three pointers at a high clip led to an early 4 point 30-26 deficit.
For what it’s worth it seems like a bad break always disguises itself as a good break, but with the Mavericks recent roster additions with Willie Cauley-Stein coming back and JJ Redick getting into the fold, but chemistry still has to take shape.
At the beginning of the second quarter the Mavericks and Sixers went back and forth and Dallas got within 3 points of the lead, but the Sixers scored 4 straight baskets to extend their lead to 5. The Mavericks had a tough time responding as their struggles on the offensive end continued while the Sixers thrived. Dallas finished the second quarter shooting 39% on 7 out of 19 shots and the Sixers knocked down 53% of their shots from the field. During this season the Mavericks track record of coming back after trailing in the first and second quarter is not great. The Sixers opened up a double digit lead before it was all said and done in the first half converting on 48% of their shots and 50% from beyond the arc which paved the way to their healthy lead.
In the third quarter the Sixers continued their efficient night by way of Joel Embiid. Embiid scored the Sixers first 8 points in the third quarter and got to the free throw line frequently. At the same time Luka Doncic got on a scoring roll scoring 6 of the Mavericks early points and finished the third quarter increasing his point total to 26 points. Outside of Luka, the remainder of the Mavericks players combined to score on 6 out of 19 attempts and finished the quarter shooting 32% from the field. Dallas had issues defending the three pointers and contesting shots from the field. The Sixers finished the third quarter with a 19 point lead and shot 53% from the field and 4 out of their 9 three pointers.
Dallas had their best shooting performance in the fourth quarter shooting 58% from the field but the Sixers bench put the final touches on the Mavericks and dampered any comeback hopes they had. The fourth quarter was the Mavericks best shooting quarter of the night, but like Rick Carlisle stated the other night playing catch up is never a good thing and hardly pays off in the long run.
This is the second game the Mavericks have lost consecutively and if they aren’t careful they could move down a spot or fall into the 9th playoff spot if they lose enough games. It is hard to count out the Mavericks because they are still a team trying to get their legs underneath them, but it may be little too late for this team to build the chemistry that is needed to run the playoff or play-in tournament table.
