DALLAS (AP) Luka Doncic was out for an impressive Dallas win in Philadelphia and didn’t have European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis for the rematch in Texas.
Dwight Powell was the big man around the basket and left the 76ers feeling like they’d had enough of Texas for now in their second straight game without star center Joel Embiid.
Doncic had 19 points and 12 assists, Powell scored 10 of his 19 points in a decisive third quarter and the Mavericks beat the 76ers 109-91 on Saturday night.
Powell was 5 of 6 from the field and had four of his season-high 12 rebounds in the third quarter, when the Mavericks outscored the 76ers 32-16 to turn a nine-point deficit into a 73-66 lead that grew to a 21-point margin in the fourth.
Dallas erased a 12-point deficit from late in the first half, bouncing back a night after getting manhandled by LeBron James and the Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis. Embiid is sidelined after surgery for a torn ligament in a finger on his left hand.
”We’ve had some tough losses,” Doncic said. ”We had a nice win. We needed it.”
The Mavericks swept the two-game season series with an Eastern Conference contender after winning by 19 in Philadelphia when Doncic was out with a sprained ankle last month.
It was the second straight loss in Texas for the 76ers, who capped a season-worst four-game losing streak in Houston before winning their previous two games.
Tobias Harris had 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Philadelphia shot 24% (5 of 21) in the third quarter.
”That was the change of the game, was the third quarter,” Harris said. ”All throughout the game we had good looks. Third quarter, we missed a bunch in a row.”
It was Dallas’ seventh straight game, and possibly last, without Porzingis. The 7-foot-3 Latvian has been out with right knee soreness – not the same knee he injured in his final game with the New York Knicks. Coach Rick Carlisle said he could play on the upcoming two-game trip to California.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 12 points and a season-high nine rebounds to help the Mavericks finish 3-3 on a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.
”It’s a great way to end the homestand,” Carlisle said. ”We would have loved to have won another game or two. But we are where we are.”
Doncic had another rough shooting night after ripping his jersey in frustration against the Lakers, going 4 of 15 but hitting 10 of 12 free throws. The 2019 Rookie of the Year, this year’s NBA leader with 11 triple-doubles, had eight rebounds.
Ben Simmons had 11 points and 11 assists but was held scoreless in the second half. The 76ers hoisted 98 shots but finished at 38%.
”It was a tale of two halves for sure,” coach Brett Brown said. ”To have 19 more shots than a team, you wouldn’t think when you look back down and looked at the score that it was going to equal that margin of a loss.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Josh Richardson had a four-point play in the second quarter, hitting a 3 as he was fouled by Seth Curry and making the free throw. Richardson and Al Horford scored 16 apiece. … Coach Brett Brown got a technical foul in the second quarter for complaining that Doncic pushed off on a step-back 3 over Richardson, who also wanted the call.
Mavericks: Crowd favorite Boban Marjanovic sent the fans who were left into a frenzy with a 3-pointer in the final seconds against his former team. The 7-foot-4 Serbian had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The only miss was another 3 seconds before the one he made. It was the second 3 of the season for Marajnovic, who was with the 76ers the latter part of last season and the playoffs. … Dorian Finney-Smith had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
AUSTRALIAN UNITY
Mavericks guard Ryan Broekhoff addressed the crowd at center court before the game alongside Simmons and Philadelphia’s Jonah Bolden to tell the crowd about raising awareness of money for those affected by wildfires in Australia.
All three players are from Australia. Broekhoff was in street clothes because he’s out with a fractured left fibula.
REBOUNDING REVERSAL
Dallas reversed a woeful start on the boards by outrebounding the 76ers 18-9 in the third. Philadelphia grabbed the first 10 offensive rebounds of the game, but Dallas had a 5-1 edge in the third, with 10 second-chance points to two for the Sixers.
SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THAT CLOSE
The 76ers held the Mavericks to a season low for a half while taking a 50-41 halftime lead. A lead fueled by seven steals, including one by Furkan Korkmaz for a reverse dunk on a breakaway, could have been bigger if not for 2-of-19 shooting on 3s in the first half.
UP NEXT
76ers: At Indiana on Monday night.
Mavericks: At Golden State on Tuesday night to open a stretch of six out of nine games on the road.
