Sixers Bounce Back From 3 Game Losing Streak with Win Over Mavericks

The Sixers finally get their 50th win on the year in a back-and-forth game against Dallas on Wednesday night. Both James Harden and Joel Embiid returned from injury versus the Mavericks, and while they didn’t have a major impact this game, Embiid’s 25 points and Harden’s 12 assists helped. The 76ers ended up winning 116-108.

Philadelphia is now only 2 games behind Boston’s 2 seed and 5 games behind Milwaukee’s 1 seed. With only 6 games left, it seems as if the 1 seed is impossible to achieve.

Not in our House

Philadelphia came back home after a 4-game road trip looking to make a statement. The 76ers had lost their past 3 games and they were not interested in making that 4. Embiid started his night dominant, scoring 7 of Philadelphia’s first 10 points. Maxi Kleber could not guard Embiid, and this was obvious.

Jason Kidd agreed.

Dwight Powell began to guard Joel, and things started looking up for the Mavericks. His scoring became less dominant, and he began to force shots. Kyrie Irving started to take advantage of this. Irving was driving after almost every Embiid miss, taking it to the other end and making a layup. This let the Mavs go on a quick run, bringing only a 2-point lead up to a 9-point lead in very little time. The 1st quarter ended after a 4-point play by Dallas with time expiring. Dallas led 37-28 after the 1st.

In the 2nd quarter, Georges Niang and De’Anthony Melton went off from downtown, as both players his 3+ triples in the first half. However, Luka Doncic was rather quiet in the 2nd quarter. While Philadelphia was able to contain him, Kyrie Irving was still a problem. Kyrie went into halftime with a game-leading 14 points. However, the Sixers were still able to cut down the lead. The Mavericks led 62-57 going into halftime.

After halftime, Doc Rivers decided to pump up the aggression. This turned out to be almost catastrophic, as Joel Embiid injured his shoulder. While it was clear that he was in a lot of pain, the MVP front-runner chose to stay in the game. This allowed Tyrese Maxey to take over. Maxey took over the role of Embiid for the 3rd quarter, as while Embiid was still in the game, he received fewer looks as a precaution. Most of Maxey’s 22 points came in the 3rd. Maxey’s impressive quarter brought the Mavs’ lead down to only 2. Dallas led 91-89 going into the 4th.

Embiid came back to play in the 4th. Harden continuously fed Embiid in the post and on the drive to give the Sixers a run that the Mavericks could not contest. Philadelphia did not care who was in their way, in the 4th quarter, they decided that they were going to win this game. The 76ers defeated the Mavericks 116-108.

What’s Next

Philadelphia now will face off against Toronto in the City of Brotherly Love on Friday night. This will be a matchup between the only 3 Cameroonians in the NBA in Christian Koloko, Pascal Siakam, and Joel Embiid. Every game matters for Philadelphia, as they currently are the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. As of right now, Philly will face off against Brooklyn in the 1st Round.