The Philadelphia 76ers sans 2023 regular season MVP Joel Embiid--who missed his 14th straight game due to a knee injury--defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120-116 on Sunday afternoon. Tobias Harris scored a team-high 28 points, Tyrese Maxey added 24 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 21 points in 26 minutes off of the bench for the 76ers. Luka Doncic scored a game-high 38 points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds (tied with the 76ers' Nicolas Batum), and dished for a game-high 10 assists to join Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Russell Westbrook as the only players to have at least three consecutive 30 point triple doubles. Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, and Derrick Jones Jr. had 21 points in 26 minutes to match Oubre as the game's highest scoring bench player. The 76ers enjoyed significant advantages in points in the paint (52-42), turnovers (committing just nine compared to the Mavericks' 17), and bench scoring (41-26); it is worth remembering how much depth and defensive versatility the Mavericks gave up to acquire Irving.
Hubie Brown provided the color commentary for ABC, and this is the third 76ers game for which Brown has provided color commentary since February 23; his most recent telecast was when the Bucks defeated the 76ers 119-98 on Sunday February 25, and he also did the color commentary when the 76ers beat the Cavaliers 104-97 on Friday February 23.
Before this game began, Brown noted that Doncic is not only leading the NBA in scoring while ranking third in assists, but he also ranks 19th in rebounding (first among guards). Brown emphasized that Doncic plays with great "physical force," using his strength to score in the paint while also being prolific from three point range. The only thing that I would add to Brown's scouting report is that Doncic’s rebounding and ability to advance ball with either the dribble or the pass echo the way that his coach Jason Kidd played; Kidd was a one man fastbreak, and so is Doncic, even though his body type and playing style are both different than Kidd's. Regarding Maxey, Brown said that the key question is, "Can you lead and make the plays when you get trapped?" He added that this is particularly important in the last five minutes of close games.
The Mavericks jumped out to an 11-0 lead, and that would usually be significant because the NBA--contrary to popular belief--is not so much a fourth quarter league as a first quarter league: early leads often are the result of matchup advantages that can and will be exploited throughout the game. Here, though, the 76ers countered with a 32-11 run to end the first quarter with a 32-22 lead, and the 76ers did not trail the rest of the way. Maxey scored 17 first quarter points on 7-10 field goal shooting. Brown commented that Maxey is "answering the pressure" of being the team's number one option with Embiid out of action, and Brown mentioned that Maxey is very dangerous going right because of his explosive quickness.
Doncic and Irving started slowly with Doncic scoring three first quarter points on 1-6 field goal shooting (though he did have five assists) and Irving failing to score after shooting 0-1 from the field. Both heated up in the second quarter: Doncic scored 12 points on 5-6 field goal shooting, and Irving had seven points on 3-4 field goal shooting as the Mavericks outscored the 76ers 29-24 to trim the 76ers' lead to 56-51. The 76ers' Buddy Hield committed a backcourt foul--with the Mavericks in the bonus--with less than a second remaining in the first half, and P.J. Washington nailed both free throws. Brown said of Hield's gaffe, "That's a gift." The 76ers only committed one first half turnover, and they scored 30 points in the paint, while the Mavericks coughed up the ball 11 times and scored just 16 points in the paint.
Brown does not just talk about star players. He praised Paul Reed's game overall, and he focused on how Reed makes himself "available" for the pass while staying active on the boards. Reed had 13 points and seven rebounds for the 76ers. Brown pointed out that Harris' post ups on the block versus smaller defenders drew double teams that led to open three point shots. Brown described this game as one characterized by three "streaks": the Mavericks' 11-0 run at the start, Maxey's subsequent 17 point first quarter explosion, and then Maxey scoring just two points in the second quarter and the third quarter combined. Maxey missed the last four minutes of the third quarter after slipping and banging his head on Derrick Jones Jr.'s right shin, but after being examined by medical staff Maxey was cleared to return for the fourth quarter. Maxey played all 12 minutes in the final stanza, scoring five points.
Brown also talked about the league-leading Boston Celtics, saying that the Celtics are "9-10 deep with established players. They can defend." Those words proved to be prophetic, as later in the afternoon the Celtics dismantled the Golden State Warriors, 140-88. TNT's Charles Barkley recently said that the L.A. Lakers and Golden State Warriors are not championship contenders; the Celtics seemed determined to prove Barkley correct about the Warriors while also getting a (small) measure of revenge for the Warriors clinching the 2022 championship on Boston's home court.
Down the stretch, Brown said, "This is about Dallas playing halfcourt defense." The Mavericks outscored the 76ers 40-30 in the fourth quarter, but that was not quite enough to complete the comeback attempt. Oubre provided a big lift in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points. Doncic (18 points) and Irving (10 points) shined offensively in the final 12 minutes, but--as Brown correctly stated--the Mavericks needed to string together stops in order to prevail.
Doncic's 30 point triple double happened anticlimactically, as Brown's play by play partner Dave Pasch mentioned that Doncic had been credited with his 10th assist without specifying exactly when that happened. Doncic is a great player on the way toward becoming an all-time great player, but some of the numbers being posted in today's NBA--not just by Doncic, but in general--should be viewed with a skeptical eye. For example, take a look at Doncic's 10th assist at the 1:34 mark of the fourth quarter, granted by a Dallas scorekeeper who must have known that time was running out for Doncic to notch his third straight 30 point triple double: Doncic passed to Irving, who caught the ball on the right wing outside of the three point line, sized up defender Kyle Lowry, took two hard dribbles, and then nailed a fadeaway jumper in the paint. What contribution did Doncic's pass make to "assist" Irving's field goal? Irving scored on a one on one move. Here is the NBA's rule book definition of an assist, as quoted in an article that I wrote on December 18, 2008:
An assist is a pass that directly leads to a basket. This can be a pass to the low post that leads to a direct score, a long pass for a layup, a fast break pass to a teammate for a layup, and/or a pass that results in an open perimeter shot for a teammate. In basketball, an assist is awarded only if, in the judgement of the statistician, the last player's pass contributed directly to a made basket. An assist can be awarded for a basket scored after the ball has been dribbled if the player's pass led to the field goal being made.
Doncic's pass to Irving did not contribute directly to the field goal being made. The NBA retroactively rescinded a phony LeBron James triple double in November 2014, but the league has been very inconsistent (and not transparent) about how/when/if it reviews scorekeeping errors; my subjective belief/observation is that the NBA rescinds egregiously incorrect triple doubles that receive a lot of media attention, but that the league does not have the inclination to systematically review scorekeeping errors. My research years ago indicated that assist totals in general--and Chris Paul's assist totals in particular--are inflated, but based on the NBA's indifference it is evident that the league would prefer to have gaudy numbers to promote and thus is disinclined to look too closely behind the curtain. This is unfortunate for players who accumulated their numbers during eras when assists were awarded with much less leniency.