Mavericks Visit Philly Playing Best Ball of Season

Six wins in seven games has Dallas (15-15 SU, 13-17 ATS) finally moving up the standings in the Western Conference. But the Mavericks will be in tough to continue that success in Philly, where the 76ers (21-11, 16-14-2) have lost just twice this season.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Despite the Mavericks’ mediocre performance so far, this is just the third time this season that Dallas is an underdog of 5 points or more. Rick Carlisle’s squad has long been an excellent bet in this price range, going 19-9-2 ATS in its last 30 as a dog of 5+ points.

Dallas News & Notes

The Mavericks are back to .500 for the first time in a month, thanks to Luka Doncic’s late-game heroics Tuesday against the Celtics. Doncic hit two long threes in the final 20 seconds of regulation – including the Sportsbook with 0.1 seconds left on the clock – as Dallas edged the Celtics 110-107 for its sixth win in seven games.

Doncic’s 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists averted what could have been a devastating loss for the Mavericks, who led Boston by 11 points with less than three minutes to go in the fourth.

Close games are becoming the norm for the Mavs, who have had six of their last eight wins come by six points or less – explaining how they’re 3-4 ATS during their 6-1 SU surge.

Dallas won without two of its big men Tuesday as Kristaps Porzingis (back) and Maxi Kleber (sprained ankle) were forced to sit out the contest. James Johnson started at power forward and had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in his first action in nearly three weeks.

Philadelphia News & Notes

With Toronto’s defense focused on shutting down Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris stepped up big Tuesday to lead Philly to a 109-102 victory over the Raptors, the Sixers’ first point-spread cover in their last seven games.

Harris scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and added seven rebounds and five assists, just a few hours after learning he hadn’t been named to the Eastern Conference all-star team.

Embiid struggled with his shot Tuesday for the second straight outing, missing 10 of 13 attempts and finishing with 18 points. Philly’s superstar center scored just 43 points in two games against the Raptors after scoring at least 31 points in eight of his previous nine.

Ball security continues to be an issue for Philadelphia, which gave the ball away to the Raptors 19 times and was outscored 23-10 off turnovers. The 76ers have committed the third-most turnovers in the NBA this season, averaging 15.7 per contest.

Betting Pick: Mavericks +5.5

Dallas should bring a lot of confidence and energy to this prime-time affair, while the Sixers are struggling to win games by a comfortable margin. Look for the Mavs to earn their eighth cover in the last 10 meetings.