Simmons leads 76ers past the Mavericks
DALLAS » Ben Simmons had 23 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Dallas Mavericks 112-110 on Saturday night for their second win of the season.
Joel Embiid added 23 points and nine rebounds as the 76ers won in Dallas for the first time since Jan. 29, 2005.
Dallas had a chance to tie the game and force overtime with 0.2 seconds remaining with Yogi Ferrell at the free throw line, but the guard missed the first attempt and Dallas couldn’t score on a rebound after he intentionally missed the second.
Simmons won the battle of rookie point guards with Dallas’ Dennis Smith Jr, who countered with 12 points and eight assists, but struggled with six turnovers.
T.J. McConnell added 15 points off the bench and Robert Covington had 11 points for the 76ers.
Harrison Barnes led Dallas with 25 points. Wesley Matthews had 19, Ferrell 17, and J.J. Barea 15.
Embiid got the best of former teammate and friend Nerlens Noel, who had four points and four rebounds. Noel spent three and a half seasons with the 76ers before being traded to Dallas last February.
Both teams relied heavily on 3-pointers as Philadelphia went 16-for-35 from beyond the arc, while Dallas made 19 of 40 3-point attempts.
Philadelphia seemingly took control and closed the third quarter with a 13-4 run after Dallas took a 7674 lead with 5:06 remaining in the period.
The Mavericks opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run and kept the game close, but couldn’t regain the lead in their final outing before a two-game road trip.
TIP-INS
76ers: F J.J. Reddick missed the game with lower back tightness. Dario Saric started in Reddick’s place and had 12 points in 29 minutes . ... Philadelphia led 57-56 at halftime.