On Monday, the Dallas Mavericks played the Philadelphia 76ers in the final game of this three game home stand for the Mavericks. The Mavericks have tumbled as of late and are looking to find the win column to get back on track. The Mavericks would soon find themselves with no room for error if they want to improve their seed in the western conference standings. This matchup comes on the second night of a back-to-back.

On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks played the San Antonio in the first night of a back-to-back. The Mavericks started this game without Maxi Kleber as he was ruled out. The Mavericks were most behind the Spurs but within distance of them, at one point they were able to lead 56-51 at halftime. Both teams competed hard in the second half as neither of them could generate separation from the other. This was a typical “Spurs vs Mavericks game” as this came down to the final minutes of the game. With the chance to win the game, the Spurs turned to DeMar DeRozan as he nailed the eventual game winning shot with 0.5 seconds that ended up giving the Spurs the win and defeated the Mavericks 119-117. Kristaps Porzingis shined in this game as he provided 31 points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks but it wasn’t enough for the win. Luka Doncic also stood out by finishing with 29 points and 7 assists in the nail biting loss. With the loss, the Mavericks record dropped to 29-23 on the season, as they now have lost two of their last three games. Luckily for the Mavericks, the loss didn’t create separation as they are still within 1 1/2 games from the sixth seed and 3 1/2 games from the fifth seed in the western conference standings.

The Philadelphia 76ers are coming into this game by going 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are recently coming off a 117-93 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday to see their record improve to 36-17 on the season. The 76ers are coming into this season with high hopes of trying to make playoffs and go on a long playoff run to hopefully sneak in the NBA Finals. The 76ers are currently tied for first in the eastern conference standings (alongside with the Brooklyn Nets). This team is led by Joel Embiid as they look to secure the top spot in the eastern conference standings. If their current trend continues, then they will have a good shot a securing the number one seed and use that to go on a long playoff run.

Coming into this game, the Mavericks lost their last meeting with the 76ers 111-97 on February 25th, 2021. This matchup will mark the final time, these two teams meet up in the regular season. The Mavericks previously swept their regular season series last season 2-0 against the 76ers. Overall, the Mavericks hold the all-time series with a record of 40-38.

The Mavericks started this game by having Kristaps Porzingis (injury recovery, right knee) and Tyrell Terry (personal reasons) ruled out but have Maxi Kleber (right lower leg soreness) and JJ Redick (right heel soreness) available to play in this game. If JJ Redick does play in this game, it would mark his first appearance as a Dallas Maverick since being acquired in the trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. As a result, the Mavericks went with Doncic, Richardson, Brunson, Finney-Smith and Kleber as their starting five in this game. The first points in the game would belong to Luka Doncic as he nailed a two pointer for the Mavericks to get this game underway. The 76ers wouldn’t get their first points until the 10:35 mark as Tobias Harris drilled a three pointer to come within 4-3 of the Mavericks. The Mavericks would jump out to a 7-3 lead after Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down a three pointer to extend their lead with 10:17 left in the quarter. The 76ers would come all the way back to tie the game at 7-7 after Tobias Harris knocked down a jump shot to tie the game with 8:52 left in the quarter. The 76ers were able to reclaim the lead after Joel Embiid knocked down two free-throws to take a 13-12 lead with 7:29 left in the quarter. The game would be slow paced as both teams started fouling each other to send them to the free-throw line as Luka Doncic went to the line and knocked down two free-throws to regain the lead at 14-13 with 7:08 left in the quarter. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 6:03 left in the quarter with the Mavericks leading 17-16. Prior to this timeout, the Mavericks got a good start to the game as they made five of their first ten attempts while the 76ers had an average start as they made four of their first nine attempts taken thus far. Both teams had the idea of getting to the free-throw line as they were already ten free-throw attempts taken by both teams combined thus far. Coming out of the timeout, Tobias Harris knocked down a free-throw to tie the game at 17-17 but the Mavericks turned to Tim Hardaway Jr on the following possession but couldn’t convert as he lost the ball out of bounds on a bad pass that kept the score at 17-17 with 5:45 left in the quarter. The 76ers started to create some momentum as they were able to create a four point lead after Joel Embiid knocked down a jump shot to take the lead at 23-19 with 4:05 left in the quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter, the 76ers were able to maintain control of the lead and take a 30-26 lead into the second quarter. The game leading scorer after one quarter of play would belong to Joel Embiid as he scored 12 points for the 76ers. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic as he scored 11 points. Both teams were neck and neck of each other as neither team could generate separation from the other. JJ Redick made his Mavericks debut as he entered the game with 3:14 left in the quarter. The Mavericks were shooting 42.1% on 8-of-19 shooting from the field at the end of one quarter of play.

The second quarter would begin by having Luka Doncic nail two free-throws for the Mavericks to get this quarter underway. The 76ers wouldn’t get their first points in the quarter until the 11:33 mark as Furkan Korkmaz nailed a two pointer to extend their lead to 32-28 in the quarter. JJ Redick would nail his first basket as a Dallas Maverick by knocking down a three pointer to come within 32-31 of the 76ers with 11:07 left in the quarter. The 76ers would then extend their lead to five points after Matisse Thybulle knocked down a jump shot to take a 39-34 lead with 9:53 left in the quarter. Maxi Kleber would get himself into foul trouble as he picked up his third personal foul with 8:55 left in the quarter thus having to sit out as the Mavericks would need him in the crucial parts of the game. The 76ers would extend their lead to 45-38 after Furkan Korkmaz nailed two free-throws to extend their lead to seven points with 7:57 left in the quarter. The Mavericks were right there with the 76ers but couldn’t get that “crucial basket” to flip the momentum on their side. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 6:58 left in the quarter as the Mavericks were trailing 46-40. Prior to this timeout, the Mavericks made five of their first nine attempts taken thus far while the 76ers made five of their first seven attempts taken which resulted in them maintaining control of the game. Coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks turned to Dorian Finney-Smith as he was able to convert on a two pointer on an offensive rebound to come within 47-42 of the 76ers with 6:28 left in the quarter. The 76ers would call a timeout with 4:15 left in the quarter as they were leading 50-44. Prior to this timeout, both teams had a difficult time generating some rhythm on offense nonetheless the Mavericks were able to generate a 4-3 run to maintain distance of the 76ers. Coming out of the timeout, the 76ers turned to Seth Curry but couldn’t convert as he missed a jump shot that kept the score at 50-44 with 3:55 left in the quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter, the 76ers were able to maintain control and take a 60-48 lead into halftime. The game leading scorer after two quarters of play would belong to Joel Embiid as he scored 23 points for the 76ers. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic as he scored 20 points. The 76ers were in control for the majority of the quarter as they were able to eliminate any threat from the Mavericks. Through two quarters of play, the Mavericks were shooting 40.5% on 15-of-37 shooting from the field. The category that stood out the most in the first half was the 76ers dominating the Mavericks in points in the paint as they out-scored the Mavericks 26-16 in that category. The 76ers were just playing tougher and more aggressive and that was the main difference to why the 76ers were in control of the game.

Coming out of the half, the Mavericks were able to get on the board first in the third quarter by having Dorian Finney-Smith nail a two pointer to come within 60-50 of the 76ers. Joel Embiid was able to score the first points in the quarter for the 76ers as he nailed two free-throws with 10:13 left in the quarter to extend their lead to 62-50. The 76ers were able to extend their lead to fourteen points after Joel Embiid knocked down a jump shot to extend their lead to 64-50 with 9:44 left in the quarter. Both teams would go on a scoring run but it did the Mavericks no favors since they were just “answering each other’s shots”. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 8:21 left in the quarter as the Mavericks were trailing 72-55. Prior to this timeout, the 76ers had Joel Embiid go on a personal 9-0 run to begin this quarter to maintain control of the game for the 76ers. The Mavericks opened the quarter on a tough start as they only made three of their first ten attempts taken thus far while the 76ers made four of their first seven attempts to begin the quarter on a hot start. The Mavericks were getting out-scored 12-7 to begin the quarter. Coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks turned to Luka Doncic as he was able to convert on a jump shot to come within 72-57 of the 76ers with 8:00 minutes left in the quarter. The 76ers were getting their shots very easily as there appeared to be no effort on the Mavericks’ defense to stop the 76ers on offense. The Mavericks would need to generate some stops on defense if they want to get this game to within distance from the 76ers. The Mavericks were able to get within ten points of the 76ers after Luka Doncic finished off the “three point play” by knocking down the “AND ONE” free-throw to come within 74-64 of the 76ers with 5:07 left in the quarter. The 76ers would soon generate a quick 4-0 run to extend their lead back to fourteen points after Joel Embiid knocked down a jump shot to take a 78-64 lead with 4:17 left in the quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter, the 76ers were still able to maintain control of the lead and take a 88-69 lead into the fourth quarter. The game leading scorer after three quarters of play would belong to Joel Embiid as he scored 36 points for the 76ers. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic as he scored 27 points. The Mavericks were trying hard to generate something on offense but the 76ers were having none of that as they kept control of the quarter. Through three quarters of play, the Mavericks were shooting 37.5% on 24-of-64 shooting from the field. The Mavericks would need to generate something huge and empty the tank in final 12:00 minutes of the game, if they want to have any shot at coming away with a win. This game was getting closer to “blowout territory” if the Mavericks don’t fix their offensive woes.

The fourth quarter would begin by having Tim Hardaway Jr nail a three pointer for the Mavericks to get this quarter underway. The 76ers weren’t able to get their points in the quarter until the 10:28 mark by having Shake Milton nail a free-throw to extend their lead to 89-72. The Mavericks better go on a tremendous scoring run to make this even a game and have a shot at leaving the arena with a win. The 76ers were able to extend their lead to twenty points after Furkan Korkmaz knocked down a three pointer to extend their lead to 92-72 with 10:01 left in the game. The Mavericks certainly had their chances to make it a game but just couldn’t knock down that “key shot” to generate some momentum in the game. The 76ers kept separating themselves from the Mavericks even more after Shake Milton knocked down a driving layup to extend their lead to 97-74 with 8:29 left in the game. The 76ers would call a timeout with 8:22 left in the game as they would lead 97-74. Prior to this timeout, the 76ers were all over this quarter as they opened the quarter by making three of their first seven attempts while the Mavericks offense was nowhere to be found as they began the quarter by making just two of their first six attempts taken thus far. The 76ers, bearing a tremendous comeback from the Mavericks, looked like they were on their way to leave the arena with a win. The Mavericks would need some serious magic (seriously) if they want to find themselves JUST back in the game and would need EVEN MORE to leave the arena with a win. Coming out of the timeout, the 76ers turned to Mike Scott as he was able to convert on a jump shot to extend their lead to 99-76 with 7:50 left in the game. This 76ers team looked like they could have a legitimate shot at reaching the NBA Finals this season as they were playing excellent basketball on both ends of the court. The Mavericks finally reached the 80-point mark after Jalen Brunson nailed a tough fadeaway jump shot to come within 101-80 of the 76ers with 6:55 left in the game. The 76ers were having so much fun and had tons of confidence of not blowing this tremendous lead, that they allowed Dwight Howard to shoot a three pointer, in which he would miss, just to give you an idea of how this quarter (and game) was going. The score remained 104-83 with 5:31 left in the game after the Dwight Howard missed three pointer. The 76ers were just waiting for the clock to hit 0:00 to make this game official in the win column for them.

This team looked like they couldn’t get that “extra boost” that they needed in order to flip the momentum to their side as the Mavericks were trailing for the majority of the first half with the 76ers leading 60-48 at halftime. The Mavericks would need to play 3x as hard to make up some ground and generate flip the momentum if they wanted to grab this game from the 76ers.

In the end, it was the Philadelphia 76ers defeating the Dallas Mavericks 113-95 to earn the regular season series sweep. The Mavericks record would drop to 29-24 on the season as they now lost three of their last four games. Luka Doncic finished the game with 32 points and 4 assists in the loss. The 76ers were led by Joel Embiid as he finished with 36 points and 7 rebounds. The Mavericks got little to no production from the rest of the team as Jalen Brunson was the only other player that provided significant offense as he finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. With the loss, the Mavericks have now created a two game losing streak at a crucial time in their schedule. As the famous “Rick Carlisle saying” goes, “this one was on me (Carlisle)”. This was such a bad performance for the Mavericks on both ends of the court as you cannot expect to compete and land a top spot in the western conference if you cannot beat the top teams in the NBA. The Mavericks’ goal is to reach the sixth spot (or better) to avoid being a part of the new “Play-in Tournament” and they are within reach of the sixth spot but they cannot start losing games like this if they want to escape the “Play-in Tournament”.

The Mavericks will get some rest before they will go on the road to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.