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Five takeaways, 'best' and 'worst' awards from Sixers' victory over Dallas Mavericks

Ben Simmons doesn't need a jump shot to be a dominant player.

Sixers guard Ben Simmons (right) drives against the Mavericks’ Wesley Matthews in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.
Sixers guard Ben Simmons (right) drives against the Mavericks’ Wesley Matthews in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.Read moreLM Otero / AP

DALLAS — Here are my key takeaways and "best" and "worst" awards from the 76ers' 112-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.

Key takeaways

  1. Dario Saric is much better as a starter than coming off the bench. The power forward had his best game in his first start of the season. He was more active and played with a better rhythm.

  2. Ben Simmons doesn't need a jump shot to be a dominant player. The Sixers point guard basically did everything he wanted except score from the outside against the Mavericks. He finished with 23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals, one block, and just one turnover.

  3. The Sixers are benefitting from the extra playing time T.J. McConnell is receiving with Markelle Fultz sidelined with right shoulder soreness. He finished with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go with eight assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes, 22 seconds of action.

  4. The Sixers are going to have to live with Joel Embiid injury scares the entire season. The center once again fell to the floor a couple of times. Now, he has a bruised right hand that led to his receiving X-rays after the game. The X-rays were negative.

  5. Simmons is doing a better job of closing out games. Eight of his 23 points came on 4-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter. He also recorded two of his assists in the fourth.

“Best” and “Worst” awards

  1. Best performance: This was a tough one, because Simmons played well. But I had to give it Harrison Barnes. The Mavericks forward finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting. Barnes' highlights were his seven made three-pointers in 12 attempts. He hit back-to-back triples to close the gap to one point (111-110) with 8.1 seconds left.

  2. Worst performance: This goes to Nerlens Noel for failing to deliver after hyping up the game. The Mavs center said he was going to "come at" Embiid. However, he finished with four points, four rebounds, and two turnovers in 19:56.

  3. Best defensive performance: Simmons was the obvious choice with the three steals and one block.

  4. Worst statistic: This goes Wesley Matthews failing to score in the fourth quarter. The Mavs guard led all scorers with 19 points through three quarters. However, missed both of his shot attempts and didn't get to the foul line in the fourth.

  5. Best statistic: This goes to the teams' combined three-point shooting. The Mavericks made 19 of 40 three-pointers (47.5 percent), while the Sixers made 16 of 35 (45.7 percent).

  6. Worst of the worst: I had to give this to Yogi Ferrell's missing the front end of a foul shot with 0.2 seconds left. Afterward, he was forced to intentionally miss the second with the hope of a teammate getting a tip-in to tie the game. He had made 25 of his previous 26 foul shots before the miss.