On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks, a team that is fighting for its life in the postseason, will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers back to their home arena in an effort to recover from a difficult road trip.
With a 116-111 loss to Denver on Monday, the 49-26 Philadelphia 76ers suffered their fourth defeat in their last five games, their third in a row.
The contest between Joel Embiid and James Harden for Most Valuable Player was postponed. However, the short-handed 76ers were able to recover from a 22-point deficit in the second half with the assistance of Tyrese Maxey’s 29 points, coming within one possession in the final minute.
Due to calf soreness, Embiid left Philadelphia’s most recent victory, a 116-91 victory over Chicago on Wednesday. He returned with a performance of 46 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists on Friday against Golden State. The following night in Phoenix, he had a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds, but Rivers decided to sit the center for Denver.
In contrast, Harden has missed four games in a row because of an Achilles injury. He has missed five of the 76ers’ last six games.
With Harden out of the picture, Maxey has stepped in to score on the perimeter. Maxey has hit for at least 21 points in each of the last six games, including the 37 points he scored Saturday against Phoenix.
When Philadelphia last played Dallas on March 2, the Mavericks defeated Philadelphia at home 133-126 with Maxey scoring 29 points.
After going 4-8 since then, the Mavericks (37-39) have been steadily losing, but on Monday, they beat Indiana 127-104 to end a four-game losing streak.
Jaden Hardy came off the bench to score 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor while Luka Doncic scored 25 points.
JaVale McGee also scored 10 points and blocked two shots for the Mavericks in just over 13 minutes. The seasoned center played his most minutes since February 10, providing depth off the bench in the victory.
The Mavericks fell out of the top 10 in the Western Conference as a result of Dallas’ slide. With the third game on Wednesday, they continue a crucial five-game road trip and trail Oklahoma City for the West’s final play-in spot.
In this late-season push for the playoffs, the Mavericks will try to keep that “different” approach.
Over the last seven games, Philadelphia, on the other hand, has its own postseason goals. As of Tuesday’s action, the 76ers are three games behind Boston in the race for the No. 2 seed in the East.
Cleveland, which is just 1 1/2 games behind the Sixers in fourth place, is gaining ground on Philadelphia.
