Mavericks 97 76ers 94: Game 11 Review

Over the course of 82 games even good teams are going to win games in a ugly fashion or when they don't particularly well for a good portion of the contest. But in this league you can't afford to be picky, and the Mavericks will gladly take all the wins they can get, even if their 97-94 win over the 76ers was not a basketball masterwork.

After changing their starting lineup for the first time all year, by inserting Jae Crowder for Samuel Dalembert, the Mavs got off to a terrible start unable to a hit a shot from the field. Crowder especially struggled going 1-8 for the game, causing  Rick Carlisle after the game to admit the lineup change was a mistake. The Mavericks righted the ship some but could not take the lead against the feisty Sixers until the third period. It was in that 3rd quarter where Monta Ellis exploded after a quiet first half, scoring 13 of his game hight 24 points to go along with 10 assists to give the Mavs a three point lead entering the fourth that they wouldn't surrender.

The Mavs also got strong games by Dirk Nowitzki with 20 points and 10 rebounds and from Shawn Marion who also scored 20. Dalembert responded well of the bench, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. Dallas also got a shot in the arm from the debut of rookie guard Shane Larkin who contributed 3 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in less than 9 minutes of action.

Despite better play in the second half the Mavs couldn't quite shake the 76ers until the final couple minutes of action. Evan Turner and Tony Wroten were particularly thorns in the Mavs side scoring 26 and 19 respectively.  Dallas was able to overcome a lot of its sloppy play which included 20 turnovers by the Sixers poor shooting, as the young Philly squad only shot 38% from the field and a putrid 12-22 from the line.

The Mavericks will definitely take the win, no matter how ugly it might have appeared and move on knowing they can play much better. If nothing else it shows they can gut out a win when a lot of things go wrong, which is very important considering how competitive the Western Conference playoff race should be.

Team Leaders
Points: Ellis, 24
Rebounds: Dalember, 14
Assists: Ellis, 10

Player of the Game: Ellis

Stat of the Game: Mavs 20-26 FT, 76ers 12-22 FT

Quote of Note: “He’s so quick. He’s always attacking. If you relax one second, one quick dribble, one quick step, and he’s at the rim laying it in. He’s just constantly looking to attack and if it’s not there, find the shooters or find the rollers. He’s been great scoring and making plays for his teammates.”
Dirk on Monta

Next Up: The Mavericks (7-4) face off for the 2nd time this year against the Houston Rockets (7-4), Wednesday at 8:30 at the AAC. The Mavericks lost 113-105 in Houston to the Rockets on November 1.