Mavs Beat 76ers
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PHILADELPHIA — Tyson Chandler went up for a second-quarter rebound and came down with an elbow to the face. The Dallas center had to be tended to, thanks to a bloodied lower lip.
“I guess my lip got in the way of his elbow,” Chandler said of Philadelphia center Henry Sims.
Chandler and the Mavericks may have taken a hit on Saturday night, but they kept on coming. Chandler had a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lift Dallas past Philadelphia 110-103 and to its third straight victory.
The Mavericks (13-5), who also picked up 18 points from guard Monta Ellis, survived a handful of second-half spurts from the winless 76ers (0-16), who drew to within four points in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia guard Alexey Shved knocked down a pair of free throws deep into the third quarter to briefly give the 76ers the lead. And later, a 3-pointer from reserve guard K.J. McDaniels cut the Sixers deficit to 98-94 with 6:07 remaining, before Dallas pulled away.
“It’s a team you feel like you’re not supposed to lose to, no offense to them,” said Chandler, who tallied his ninth double-double of the season. “You feel you’re supposed to get the win. It felt like we were supposed to win.”
Point guard Michael Carter-Williams logged a triple-double, with 18 points, a career-best 16 assists and 10 rebounds, and McDaniels added a game-high 21 points and a career-best 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who set the franchise record for
consecutive defeats to open the season.
The 76ers eclipsed the 1972-73 club that began 0-15 on the way to setting an 82-game NBA record for fewest victories at 9-73.
“Nobody’s pointing fingers. Nobody’s accusing anybody. This group stays together,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. “We’re heartbroken that we haven’t won. We can’t dismiss that. It hurts me terribly. I feel for the city. We want to get it right. Down deep, I know something’s going on that I like. I think they will be rewarded for the work they’re putting in — I hope it’s sooner than later — to validate their efforts.”
Dallas induced 24 turnovers from the 76ers, who lead the NBA in that category. Offensively, the Mavericks placed six scorers in double figures, including 17 points from forward Chandler Parsons and 15 from point guard Devin Harris.
“We had a lot of guys who stepped up,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.
One of them was Chandler, who had seven points and seven rebounds during a second quarter in which the Mavericks extended their lead to double digits.
“(Chandler) played a huge game on the boards, got the ball in the basket for us, and hit some free throws,” Carlisle said. “He was terrific.”
The Mavericks benefited from a first quarter in which Philadelphia did too much ball-watching. The Mavericks knocked down five open looks, including a pair of 3-pointers from forward Charlie Villanueva, to take a 28-26 lead. The 76ers’ eight first-quarter turnovers certainly didn’t help matters.
Coming out of halftime behind 58-51, the Sixers had everything going their way in. They were rebounding at both ends of the floor, scoring on offense and closing out on shooters on defense. The scoreboard reflected their effort, with Shved’s free throws at the 3:01 mark capping an 18-9 run and giving Philadelphia an 81-80 lead, its first since the first four minutes of the game.
A see-saw battle ensued, with both teams trading buckets. Sims, whose putback layup gave the Sixers another of their one-point leads, scored 11 points in the third quarter to keep things tight.
Parsons’ 3-pointer from the wing with 42 seconds remaining in the third helped the Mavericks carry a 90-86 lead into the fourth. Philadelphia committed four turnovers in a 2-minute, 53-second span, helping Dallas go on a 6-0 run to reinstate a cozy double-digit buffer.
“I felt they moved the ball better in the second half, got a few open shots on some extra-effort plays,” McDaniels said.
“We are pretty close (to a win), but the game is 48 minutes,” Carter-Williams said.
