The Sixers certainly enjoyed their first 24 minutes of play in the ESPN national spotlight. The second 24? Not so much.
Despite the Sixers taking a 51-37 halftime lead, the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks left the Wells Fargo Center with an 82-75 win. Dallas simply locked things down defensively in the second half - holding the Sixers to just 8 third quarter points.
Dirk Nowitzki did what Dirk Nowitzki does - namely bury unstoppable off-balance jumper after unstoppable off-balance jumper. He finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds and was unguardable in the second half.
The starting backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks combined to shoot 0-12 from the floor. As a team the Sixers were almost as bad from behind the arc - shooting just 1-14 from distance.
If there was a bright spot, it was the play of the young big men. Nik Vucevic had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Lavoy Allen also played well, contributing 8 points and a team high 10 boards. With Spencer Hawes out Doug Collins will certainly take the combined 24 points and 17 rebounds from his young bigs.
The loss drops the 76ers record to 20-11 as they embark on a four game road trip, which will see them visit Minnesota, Memphis, Houston, and Detroit.
They kick off the trip against the Timberwolves Sunday night.
Photo Credit: Howard Smith - US Presswire
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.