DALLAS – Christmas came early for the Philadelphia 76ers the last time they played the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs and Sixers were tied at 81-81 early in the fourth quarter. But form the 8:05 mark of the final period to the 5:37 mark, the Mavs uncharacteristically committed six turnovers on six consecutive possessions.
That enabled the Sixers to build a 90-81 lead en route to a 100-98 loss back on Nov. 27.
“It’s been a lost opportunity,’’ said former Sixers center Elton Brand, who had 17 points and eight rebounds in that game for the Mavs. “Offensive rebounding, they scored off of, a lot of put-backs and tip outs because we didn’t secure the ball.
“And our turnovers. That’s been our problem when we lost games this season, so we need to get ahead of that and stop turning the ball over and hit those boards and we should be fine.’’
Both the Mavs (11-13) and Sixers (12-12) are riding three-game losing streaks going into tonight’s 7:30 contest at American Airlines Center. So something’s got to give tonight.
“The goal right now is to just get a W,’’ Brand said. “We’re losing, we’re on the snide.
“They’re losing a little bit, so I know coach (Doug) Collins is going to have them ready and I know coach (Rick Carlisle) is going to have us ready, so this is going to be a tough battle tonight.’’
-- Dwain Price
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