Joel Embiid recorded a triple-double in his return to the court and Tyrese Maxey had a double-double as the Philadelphia 76ers nipped the visiting Dallas Mavericks 118-116 on Tuesday.
Embiid finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes. Maxey contributed 33 points and 13 assists, while Guerschon Yabusele pitched in with 19 points for Philadelphia, which avoided a third straight defeat.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points for Dallas, which was annihilated by Cleveland 144-101 in its first game after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend but authored a much crisper effort in this one.
Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the Doncic deal, continued to sit with an abdominal injury. Max Christie made his Dallas debut and went 4-of-4 from 3-point range en route to 15 points.
The Mavericks made another trade Tuesday, ironically with the Sixers. Dallas acquired veteran swingman Caleb Martin for sharpshooter Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick, although neither player suited up Tuesday.
One player who did take the court was Embiid, who had missed the previous 15 games with a knee injury. The triple-double was the ninth of his career and his first this season.
Embiid’s bucket put the Sixers ahead 105-97 with 6 1/2 minutes left before the Mavericks rallied to go in front 109-107 on Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play.
The teams jockeyed back and forth with Naji Marshall’s tip giving Dallas a 116-115 lead with 1:26 to go. The score remained unchanged until Embiid got good position down low and dropped in a layup with 22 seconds left.
On the Mavericks’ final two possessions, Marshall missed a tough runner and then Dante Exum lost the ball as the buzzer sounded.
Philadelphia shot 65.2 percent in the first quarter and led 36-31 after the period. Dallas led for the bulk of the second quarter, eventually taking a 65-58 lead into the locker room as Marshall (19 points) scored six points late in the half to help the visitors create a bit of separation.
The Sixers dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 36-22 behind 63.6 percent shooting. Maxey and Yabusele did much of the heavy lifting with each contributing 10 points in the quarter.
–Field Level Media
