Sixers vs. Mavericks at a glance
76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks at a glance
TEAMS: Sixers (18-29) vs. Mavericks (18-30)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: American Airlines Center
BROADCASTS: TV – CSN RADIO – 97.5 FM
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: TWITTER – @PompeyOnSixers, INSTAGRAM – PompeyOnSixers
411 ON MAVS: Break up the Mavericks.
Dallas is starting to find its groove. They have a two-game winning streak after beating NBA powers San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland on back-to-back nights. The Mavs have also won four of five and seven of 10 games.
Rookie guard Yogi Ferrell, who signed a 10-day contract over the weekend, has been Dallas' sparkplug.
He averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in 36.5 minutes in starts over the Spurs and Cavs.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SIXERS (18-29)
*20 Timtho Luwawu-Cabarrot G/F 6-6 3.3 ppg. 1.3 spg.
7 Ersan Ilyasova PF 6-10 15.3 ppg. 6.0 rpg.
8 Jahlil Okafor C 6-11 11.3 ppg. 4.8 rpg.
11 Nik Stauskas SG 6-6 8.8 ppg. 2.0 apg.
1 T.J. McConnell PG 6-2 5.7 ppg. 6.2 apg.
Coach: Brett Brown (Fourth season, 65-228)
Injury report: Ben Simmons (right foot fracture, out), Jerryd Bayless, (left wrist ligament tear, out), Joel Embiid (left knee bone bruise, out), Robert Covington (right hand bruise, out), Gerald Henderson (left hip sorenesss, probable).
*Sixers haven't officially announced a small forward starter
MAVS (18-30)
23 Wes Matthews SF 6-5 15.2 ppg. 1.2 spg.
40 Harrison Barnes PF 6-8 20.5 ppg. 5.3 rpg.
41 Dirk Nowitzki C 7-0 13.1 ppg. 6.0 rpg.
30 Seth Curry SG 6-2 11.3 ppg. 2.6 apg.
11 Yogi Ferrell PG 6-0 6.8 ppg. 2.3 apg.
Coach: Rick Carlisle (15th season, 679-501)
Injury report: Jose Barea (left calf strain, out); Andrew Bogut (right hamstring strain, out); Deron Williams (left great toe sprain, questionable).
THE SERIES
The Mavs own a 36-33 series advantage and won last seven meetings.
LAS VEGAS LINE
Dallas is a 6-point favorite.
LAST SERIES MEETING
Okafor couldn't do it by himself.
The Sixers rookie had a career night when his teammates were vastly overmatched. That led to a 129-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 21, 2016 at the American Airlines.
He scored 31 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds and a blocked shot. He exited the game with 6 minutes, 17 seconds remaining.
Okafor basically did whatever he wanted to do no matter who guarded him. He scored on floaters, turnaround jumpers, tip-ins, and dunks.
The problem was he didn't get much consistent help on the offensive end. And defensively, the Sixers were a wreck.
Nerlens Noel didn't play a lot of minutes because of foul trouble. The Sixers center picked up three fouls and played just 6 minutes, 42 seconds in the first half. He picked up his fifth foul at the 4:37 mark of the third quarter and exited the game again.
Noel returned with 10:53 left. But at the time, the Sixers were down, 99-80. He finished with four points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a block in less than 19 minutes.
Offensively, the Sixers didn't have a consistent second scorer to go with Okafor.
Former reserve guard Isaiah Canaan finished with 15 points. Covington scored nine of his 14 in the first half.
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday: 8:30 p.m., at AT&T Center, Sixers vs. San Antonio Spurs
Saturday: 7:30 p.m., at American Airlines Arena, Sixers vs. Miami Heat
Monday: 7:30 p.m., at Palace at Auburn Hills, Sixers vs. Detroit Pistons
Feb. 8: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, San Antonio Spurs vs. Sixers
Feb. 9: 7 p.m., at Amway Center, Sixers vs. Orlando Magic
Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.