National Basketball Association
Philadelphia 111, Dallas 97
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 25, 2021
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Officials: #77 Karl Lane, #58 Josh Tiven, #11 Derrick Collins
Attendance: N/A

Joel Embiid scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Dallas Mavericks 111-97 on Thursday.

Embiid shot 5 of 20 from the field but made 11 of 12 free throws.

Ben Simmons added 15 points and seven assists while Seth Curry contributed 15 points for the Sixers, who improved to 14-2 at home. Dwight Howard had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Shake Milton chipped in with 10 points.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 19 points. Josh Richardson added 13, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 12 and Jalen Brunson managed 11 for the Mavericks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Boban Marjanovic pulled down 12 rebounds.

Dallas big man Kristaps Porzingis sat out due to lower back tightness.

Simmons converted a three-point play with 4:19 left in the second quarter to give the Sixers a 43-35 lead. The Sixers kept attacking and extended their advantage to 52-35 after Embiid threw down a dunk to cap a 14-0 run.

The Mavericks struggled through the first half with 14 turnovers, five by Doncic, and trailed 59-43 at the break. Doncic missed his first three shots and was 3 of 9 by halftime.

Philadelphia missed its first seven shots of the third quarter but still led 69-56 midway through the period.

Dallas responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, and the deficit was just seven.

A late 11-2 spurt pushed the Sixers to an 86-68 lead at the end of the third. But the news wasn't all good for the Sixers, who lost Tobias Harris for the rest of the game because of a right knee contusion. He managed six points in 22 minutes.

The Mavericks were unable to string together a run, and the Sixers pulled out to a 91-70 advantage with 9:51 to go in the fourth following a corner trey by Mike Scott.

With Doncic on the bench, the Sixers led 102-76 with 6:30 remaining. The 26-point advantage was more than enough of a cushion to propel Philadelphia to the win.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Philadelphia
Luka Doncic 19 Scoring Joel Embiid 23
Luka Doncic 4 Assists Ben Simmons 7
Boban Marjanovic 12 Rebounds Joel Embiid 9
Dwight Powell 6 Free Throws Made Joel Embiid 11
Jalen Brunson 1 Steals Seth Curry 3
Luka Doncic 3 Blocks Dwight Howard 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dallas 97 41.0 13-34 20-23 17 50 9 2 22
Philadelphia 111 43.3 12-29 21-25 26 39 6 11 8
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The 76ers have a W/L % of .682 after a win and .636 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .533 after a win and .438 after a loss.