The Philadelphia 76ers (35-25) faced the Dallas Mavericks (34-27) in a Sunday matinee. The Sixers played one of their best games of the season without Joel Embiid, winning 120-116.

Let’s break down a wild one between the Sixers and the Mavs.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 24 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8-15 FG shooting

The Dallas-area native took control of the game for the 76ers early, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. With his unreal speed and shooting off the bounce, he torched the Mavs' defense. His scorcher forced them to play him way harder, which took away his scoring chances but opened things up more for teammates later in the game. His defense was also very good. He stood strong and jarred the ball loose on various plays.

A head collision slowed him down but he maintained his impact down the stretch.

Tobias Harris: 28 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 11-19 FG shooting

Harris was very impactful in a good way once again. He shot the ball with confidence and efficiency while getting some more chances to cook on his own. But even on those possessions, he only took a handful of seconds to get his shot off. He took on the toughest defensive assignment in the contest and did a fine job. In the fourth quarter, he was money on several clutch buckets.

Mavs player notes:

Luka Doncic: 38 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 7 turnovers, 14-27 FG shooting

Contrasted to Maxey's blazing speed, Doncic forced his way to the paint with slick handles and his big frame. He was not only adept at blow-bys but also getting right into his step-back shooting when the defender over-pursued on the recovery. However, he was not secure with the ball, costing Dallas lots of possessions. He still turned it on in the fourth quarter and was unstoppable for much of the game, posting another unreal stat line as he makes a run at the MVP award.

Game recap:

The 76ers escaped by the skin of their teeth in their last game against the Charlotte Hornets, who bolstered the Mavericks' depth by trading them P.J. Washington. The two-way forward and big man Daniel Gafford have been very solid additions for Dallas. Philly had its hands full against the two star guards and their revamped supporting cast.

Kyle Lowry and Mo Bamba remained in the starting lineup for this game. Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin returned from injury but Cam Payne was unavailable due to an illness.

1st half

The Mavs got out to a red-hot start, getting out in transition and hitting all their shots. The Sixers couldn’t get anything to fall in the first few minutes. All of Dallas' first four shots fell for points while none of Philly's did, making the score 11-0 after two minutes and change. The Sixers dialed up some plays to free up open shooters but they came up empty, leading to a very early timeout.

The Mavs' tempo made it harder for Philly to go its preferred matchups of Tobias Harris on Doncic and Maxey on Kyrie Irving. But finally, Buddy Hield put the Sixers on the board after their sixth shot. Then numerous Sixers scored on shots in the paint, taking it right at rookie big man Dereck Lively II. A turnover from Doncic led to a transition three for Hield that put Philly ahead. Harris, with his lackluster rebounding effort and awful shot selection, wasn’t of much help.

Paul Reed picked up a pair of early fouls as the 76ers struggled to contain Doncic on the perimeter. Maxey was cooking as the quarter went on, blowing by whoever stood in his way with a tremendous change of pace. He took a break from driving into the paint by slamming on the breaks outside of the arc to hit a step-back triple. His scoring outburst put Philly up by 10 heading into the second quarter.

Martin made it back to the floor after a three-game absence late in the first quarter and started the second along with Lowry, Hield, Oubre and Bamba. The Mavs, playing their starting lineup with Maxi Kleber in Washington's spot, went on a 10-2 run in an instant. Lowry baited a pair of fouls as the Sixers barely got by without Maxey, who returned with seven minutes left in the half. Great hustle plays from Reed and Nico Batum proved to be huge.

Maxey coming back in helped Harris get going in the middle of the floor, attacking downhill and getting into his face-up-jumper game with plenty of space to operate. He had to be subbed out after his third foul but was continuing his trend from the last game of keeping things easy for himself.

The Sixers' defense did a spectacular job of recording steals, poking the ball away from even Doncic and Irving to extinguish scoring chances for the Mavs. Philly's woeful three-point shooting (4-22) kept the game close but they had done a great job of keeping Dallas' offense in check and getting great looks when Maxey's in the game.

At the break, the Sixers led 56-51.

2nd half

Harris swished triples from each corner to get the half started as the Mavs started to bring the blitzes against Maxey. The 76ers pushed the lead up to 13 as Hield pitched in some tough buckets and a nice assist. He bailed Harris out with a great slot cut that freed up Lowry for a triple, which he assisted on the moving dish to the opposite side. Philly looked much more prepared for double-teams against their key initiators.

The Mavs' halfcourt offense remained dull to start the half. The Sixers played inspired defense, flying around the perimeter to contest every shot it could. Doncic gave the ball away to give Philly plenty of breaks. Lowry's knack for passing and baiting fouls again came in clutch to keep his team trudging along through lulls in their shooting.

A Maxey injury scare made things extra worrisome for the Sixers. A little over midway through the third quarter, Maxey tripped and slammed his head on Derrick Jones Jr.'s leg. He instantly held his head as play continued and was tended to by both medical staff and his family as Philly tried to maintain its double-digit lead.

Oubre pitched in some crucial scoring and Lowry set everything up well as the Sixers stayed ahead as the third quarter wound down. Shaking off a cold start to the game (and a greater stretch of shooting woes over the last month), he had eight points in the final 3:07 of the period.

Maxey was back on the floor to start the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead. The 76ers offense knew just how to attack when Maxey got doubled, spacing the floor for the roller and shooting spot-up looks. Nick Nurse having Batum serve as the screener made such efficiency possible. Oubre, using his hops to elevate and get difficult pull-ups in the paint to fall, helped them go up by a game-high 18.

While the 76ers started to run out of gas with Maxey still being forced to give up the ball, Doncic pushed the envelope to get the Mavs back in it, attacking Maxey as a mismatch (and defender with four fouls) and then leaving Harris in the dust to get to his spots. A step-back triple bounced around the rim before dropping — where has Philly seen a shot like that before? — to bring the game to single digits.

The Mavs made it a five-point game with a minute and a half left. Oubre assisted Harris on a huge triple to give the 76ers more breathing room. Harris then blew by a closeout to score on a floater. But a deep Doncic triple cut it back down. Dallas had Philly dead to rights with a backcourt violation but Lowry called a timeout in the nick of time. Irving hit a pair of triples off the dribble but the Sixers put it away with free throws.

Random tidbits:

  • The team holding a practice yesterday at Hield's house was pretty cool. For all the team's struggles, it is great to know that it's at least a very tight-knit unit.
  • On the ESPN broadcast, Katie George said that Embiid has started on-court workouts and is lifting the same amount of weight as before his injury.

The 76ers' road trip concludes with a Tuesday matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.