The Philadelphia 76ers were ready to finish up their 4-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks. They were 3-0 in the previous games with wins over the Celtics, Pelicans, and Thunder. Tonight, they were aiming to get their 4thstraight on the road. Though things did not go their way in the first 12 minutes, the last 36 would be full steam ahead.
Dallas came out taking an early 4-0 run. From that point on, it was a close one. Joel Embiid went to the line and made both free throws to give Philadelphia their first lead of the game. They only held it for a few minutes as a Luka Doncic jump shot allowed Dallas to regain the advantage. However, Philadelphia would not have any of that. The score was tied twice during the latter part of the quarter. Eventually, Embiid made 2 more free throws to put his team up by three. Dallas fouling him was part of what kept Philadelphia in the game. As a result, Philadelphia went into the second up 30-26.
The second quarter was in favor of Philadelphia from start to finish. They were able to hold on to their lead despite Dallas trying to come close. At the 4:45 mark, they took an 8-point lead. Soon enough, it would hit double digits. Dallas did not protect the paint as well as they had been doing in previous games. Their defense became stagnant and allowed Philadelphia to have 26 points in the paint. Overall, Philadelphia led by as much as 15 but went into the half up 60-48.
Although Dallas came out shooting first in the third quarter, Philadelphia’s offense proved to be too much for them. At the 8:41 mark, Philadelphia was on top 17, following a 3-pointer by Seth Curry. With about a minute remaining, 2 back-to-back buckets from deep by Danny Green put them ahead by 20. Yet, it was an 88-69 game headed into the final stretch.
Just about the halfway mark in the fourth, Philadelphia had triple digits on the board. The closest Dallas was ever to get from that point on was within 13. Since the end of the first quarter, Philadelphia turned their offense around and never looked back. They were shooting 38% from three-point land, while Dallas was only 25%. In light of that, Philadelphia pummeled Dallas 113-95.
Embiid led the team with 36 points. Furkan Korkmaz contributed 20 points. Tobias Harris and Shake Milton finished with 10 points apiece. Though the game did not go in their favor, Dallas was led by Doncic, who had 32 points. Jalen Brunson knocked down 15. Finally, Dorian Finney-Smith scooped up a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.
Coach Rick Carlisle noted that while there were some good stretches from his team, the most important thing was to play the full 48 minutes.
“I thought we started off okay, he said. “This is a game where you have to come out full bore with a physical posture and we did not do that.”
Up Next
Both Dallas and Philadelphia have games on Wednesday, April 14th. Philadelphia will head back home to host Brooklyn at 7:00 pm. Dallas will hit the road to visit Memphis at 9:30 pm.
