Mavs Pull Away Late for Blowout Win Over Sixers in Kyrie Irving's Injury Return

The Mavs pulled away late to defeat the shorthanded Sixers as Kyrie Irving made his return from a six-game absence caused by a right thumb sprain.

PHILADELPHIA — Beginning a three-game East Coast road trip, the Dallas Mavericks (27-23) defeated the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers (30-19) with a final score of 118-102. After a six-game injury absence caused by a right thumb sprain, the Mavs welcomed back Kyrie Irving into the lineup, while reigning MVP Joel Embiid is in the beginning of a lengthy injury absence as he nears knee surgery.  

“It feels good to get that game out the way,” Irving said. “I got hit (on his right thumb) a few times, but that’s what comes with being out there ready to battle with guys. It felt good to just get a rhythm, get a win, get this road trip started and get prepared for Brooklyn tomorrow.”

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Irving totaled 23 points, five rebounds, and eight assists in his return from injury, while Josh Green scored 20. Luka Doncic, who was frequently doubled, had a rare night scoring below the 20-point threshold as he totaled just 19. Other double-figure scorers included Jaden Hardy (17 points), Grant Williams (14 points), and Maxi Kleber (14 points) to provide a balanced effort. 

“I thought Kai just let the game come to him,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He didn’t force anything. He got good looks early and just started to get into a rhythm there. And you could see that he was starting to be aggressive. His mid-range was something that he was comfortable with tonight, and also getting to the basket.”

Despite trailing 6-0 initially, the Mavs used a balanced effort to lead the Sixers 16-13 midway through the period. All five starters already scored for Dallas, including Josh Green (4 points), Derrick Jones Jr. (4 points), Doncic (3 points), Maxi Kleber (3 points), and Irving (2 points).

The Sixers' early goal was to shrink the floor by rotating the low man early, daring Jones to have to shoot. He missed open looks from deep initially, but Dallas adjusted by involving him as a dribble handoff big and moving Doncic around off the ball, then later deploying lineups with all shooting threats when Irving ran the bench group. 

Defensively, Maxey's speed on the open floor proved challenging for the Mavs to handle. However, the first-time All-Star recorded his third personal foul at the 5:33 mark of the first quarter due to being called for a charge. Philadelphia unsuccessfully challenged the play. Dallas ultimately "corralled" Maxey on the night. 

With Kelly Oubre Jr. factoring in with nine points during this stretch, Philadelphia heated up from the perimeter to close the opening period, setting up a 33-26 lead at the end of the first period. Philadelphia had 14 points in the paint, nine fastbreak points, 

A theme early in the second quarter was Tobias Harris taking advantage of the Mavs having smaller perimeter personnel on the floor, enabling him to post up for a turnaround jumper and get to spots for pull-ups when he wanted. He scored six of Philadelphia's initial eight points in the period, setting up a 43-34 lead with 9:11 remaining before halftime. Part of Dallas' strategy was to live with those short/mid-range shot attempts from Philadelphia took in the first half to focus on the paint and the 3-point line, proving to be successful after the break. 

"They were making a lot of tough two-point shots, and you just don't want to get discouraged when you're playing good defense, and they're making into the shot clock shots, or they're making some tough isolation shots, or they're making some open 3-pointers," Irving said. "Tonight was just about our patience and our resolve and just making sure we stay the course."

The Sixers' focus was clearly to double Doncic frequently to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible. When the offense wasn't just accepting the coverage to play out of the double, Dallas tried to move him around by having to get the ball out of Zoom actions and even a few occasional times being a screener himself. Dallas could not consistently get into its offense and create advantages with the Sixers' pesky on-ball defense and overall physical approach. 

“We just weren’t shooting the ball straight from the start,” Kidd said. “We talked about it at halftime and just continued to keep playing defense. The shots weren’t falling. We were getting great looks.I thought (Doncic’s) patience to let his teammates play, and then the ball finally got to him in the second half, and he took advantage of the catch-and-shoot situations.”

Green was the only Mavs player to score in double figures in the opening half with 15, while Doncic (eight points) and Irving (seven points) did not have typical performances up to their usual standards. Dallas' superstars turned up their play after the break, with Irving connecting on tough jumpers while Doncic continued to get doubled heavily.

The Mavs were up 79-74 at the end of the third quarter after containing the Sixers to just 17 points in the period while having a seven-point scoring differential. Irving scored 11 of Dallas' 24 points in the frame, with various momentum-shifting shot-creation sequences that reminded Philadelphia of the superstar void the team holds with Joel Embiid sidelined for an extended period due to injury. 

With Irving setting the tone while Doncic was on the sideline to start the fourth quarter, the Mavs extended their lead to 86-77 with 9:29 left, entering a timeout. After scoring his 21st point, Irving became Dallas' leading scorer. The lead grew to 15 points after Williams hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with a lengthy hold of the follow-through, followed by Hardy dropping in another 3-pointer. 

The Sixers struggled to generate much offense as the game went on, feeling the impact of not having Embiid to run things through as the heavy focal point. The Mavs continued to accept the doubles sent Doncic's way and trusted that shots would fall from the perimeter if they continued to draw two and move the ball. 

“We just took what the defense gave us,” Irving said. “I felt like we made great decisions out of the double teams. We accepted the double teams, and we allowed our selflessness to carry us to a lead in that fourth quarter.”

After Williams scored seven consecutive points for the Mavs playing off the catch, Dallas was successfully breaking the defensive coverages that previously were working for the Sixers. Doncic hit a 3-pointer to add to the team's lead, reaching a 105-85 edge — the most significant of the game. There was no rallying back for Philadelphia, resulting in putting in reserves to close it out.  

Maxey was held to 15 points and seven assists despite playing 33 minutes after early foul trouble. No player hit the 20-point threshold for Philadelphia, with Oubre's 19 points being the closest. The Sixers shot just 27.6 percent from beyond the arc on the night while being overdoubled in makes by the Mavs, who made 19. 

Both teams played without various key players, with the Mavs not having Dereck Lively II (nasal sprain) or Dante Exum (right knee bursitis). Lively had a successful nose surgery on Monday in Dallas but will not be able to play on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. It remains to be seen when either player will be back in the lineup.