Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Put on Masterclass vs. 76ers Thursday
Coming off of an impressive double-digit win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers wasted no time getting back out on the floor to take on a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
Thursday’s game marked the first time the Sixers faced the new-look Mavs, which features a star-studded backcourt containing Luka Doncic and the former Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving.
The first quarter set the tone for an offensive shootout. Dallas knocked down 14 of their 22 shots from the field and drained 73 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. Doncic and Irving were responsible for 27 of Dallas’s 38 first-quarter points.
As for the Sixers, their star duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid combined for 26 points as the Sixers trailed the Mavericks by one point through the first quarter of action.
The first half ended tight. As Dallas knocked down 48 percent of their threes, they rallied off 71 points through the first two quarters. Meanwhile, Philadelphia shot nearly as efficiently from deep, on 12 fewer attempts from long range. Through the first two quarters, the Mavs had a slight edge, leading Philadelphia 71-67.
When the second half got started, the Sixers certainly looked like they were coming off of the second half of a back-to-back set of games. Once again, the combination of Doncic and Irving dominated by combining for 19 points, while Mavericks’ reserve Maxi Kleber scored nine points in seven minutes off the bench.
With a significant rally in the third quarter, Dallas led by as many as 25 points.
While it seemed the Sixers were down and out going into the fourth quarter, Tyrese Maxey gave them life. The Sixers opened up the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run. Maxey was responsible for ten of those points. By getting the Sixers within single digits, the 76ers went from a team that was ready to hang it up early to suddenly putting together a potential comeback.
Overall, Maxey had a stellar fourth quarter, draining seven of his 11 shots from the field, and scoring 17 points. But once the Mavericks trotted Doncic back out on the floor for the final minutes, the superstar duo in Dallas continued cooking.
Irving drilled three of his six shots, knocking down both of his attempted threes. Doncic hit a shot from downtown and was a perfect 2-2 from the charity stripe. While the Mavericks were outscored 35-23 in the fourth quarter, they had enough cushion to put Philly away with a 133-126 win.
Irving and Doncic each took 22 shots from the field and at least eight threes. As a whole, they totaled for 82 points, giving the Sixers’ defense a lot to think about before they travel to Milwaukee for a Saturday night battle.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
