Luka Doncic amassed 42 points and 12 assists and Kyrie Irving sored 40 points to lift the host Dallas Mavericks past the Philadelphia 76ers 133-126 on Thursday.
The Mavericks improved to 2-4 with Doncic and Irving playing together.
Reggie Bullock added 15 and Christian Wood contributed 10 for the Mavericks, who had dropped five of their previous six games.
Dallas shot 25 of 48 (52.1 percent) from 3-point territory, with Doncic and Irving combining to go 13 of 21 (61.9 percent).
After the Sixers mounted a furious rally, Irving sealed the victory by making two free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid returned from a one-game absence caused by left foot soreness to score 35 points and grab eight rebounds. Tyrese Maxey added 29 points. James Harden had 27 points and 13 assists, De’Anthony Melton put up 12 points and Tobias Harris had 10.
The Sixers ripped off an 11-0 run to get within 131-126 and nearly got closer, but Maxey missed a difficult layup with 12.2 seconds left to end the rally.
The Sixers opened the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run to cut a 19-point deficit to 110-106 when Maxey hit a runner in the lane with 9:22 left.
Irving responded with a three-point play and the Mavericks went ahead by seven.
The Mavericks regained their momentum and took a 122-108 lead on a 3-pointer by Bullock with 6:22 remaining.
In the second quarter, Josh Green dropped in a 3-pointer from the corner with 3:15 left as the Mavericks went ahead 65-60.
Embiid responded with a 15-foot jumper and Harden added a three-point play to tie the game at 65 with 1:52 remaining.
Doncic hit a short jumper with 0.8 seconds left and the Mavericks held a 71-67 advantage at halftime. Doncic led the way with 25 points before the break, and Irving added 20.
Harden produced a double-double by halftime with 19 points and 10 assists.
Irving split a double team and hit a difficult layup with 8:14 remaining to cap a 20-4 run to open the third quarter as Dallas pulled ahead 91-71.
Doncic knocked down a step back trey from 25 feet with 3:43 left in the third, and the Mavericks led 107-82.
Dallas shot 13 of 20 from the field in the third and held a 110-91 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Source: yardbarker.com
