Just because several familiar faces – Devin Harris, Eddie Jones and Erick Dampier – were back in the fold Tuesday night didn’t mean the Mavericks were going to run at full strength.
It’s going to take some time. Much as the game against Philadelphia took some time for the Mavs to hit their stride.
Once they did, the Mavs pulled away in the second half for a 99-84 victory before 19,875 fans at a sold out American Airlines Center. Dallas improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 at home. The four-game homestand continues Thursday against defending champion San Antonio.
The Mavs’ early struggles were somewhat familiar. The two losses this season – Atlanta and Portland – were at the hands of teams in the lottery last summer, just as the Sixers were. And just as those two teams, Philadelphia also has its share of young athletes, most notably Andre Iguodala.
“Sometimes it’s hard to play a team that everybody, including yourself, expects to beat,” Jerry Stackhouse said.
The 76ers took a 50-43 lead into halftime before Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Co. began to heat up offensively and lock down at the other end. Nowitzki struggled with his shot early, but it didn’t affect the rest of his game. He made his presence felt on the boards (12 rebounds) and with the pass (career-high-tying eight assists).
“Jet messed up my triple-double,” Nowitzki joked.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Second-half surge lifts Mavs past Philly
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1 comment:
Dirk is right about the td. I remember last time he had 8 assists guys were making every shot for him, but this time he could have acutally had like 11-12 assists if everything went right.
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