Mar 16, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) looks to score as Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) defends during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The Dallas Mavericks returned home to play the Philadelphia 76ers in a battle of the two most injured teams in the NBA. That’s not a hyperbole. The 76ers ruled out 10 players while the Mavs ruled out nine, with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Dereck Lively II being the highlights.
With all of those players out, the Mavericks started Brandon Williams, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and Kessler Edwards, their 37th different starting lineup of the season. The 76ers started Jared Butler, former Maverick Quentin Grimes, Ricky Council IV, Justin Edwards, and Guerschon Yabusele for their league-high 43rd different starting lineup of the season.
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P.J. Washington returned by scoring Dallas’ first six points, but Philadelphia had the hot start offensively, as Guerschon Yabusele and Quentin Grimes helped them build an 11-6 lead. But a 6-0 run by the Mavs, with two straight buckets from Washington, a few minutes later put Dallas in front.
Despite a close battle early, the teams were scoring much differently. Dallas was getting to the basket while Philly was shooting from the perimeter. Once Washington went out of the game, though, the Mavs struggled mightily to score. They shot 0/7 for three before Naji Marshall beat the first-quarter buzzer with a shot that banked off the backboard and hit every part of the rim on the way in. However, Philly still had a 36-32 lead heading into the second frame, even with P.J. Washington having 14 points.
The eighth lead change on a 6-1 run gave the Mavs the lead again early in the second. And that run stretched thanks to elite shooting inside the arc, as Dallas was up by around eight for most of the first six minutes of the frame. A Max Christie three pushed the lead to nine, but they couldn’t get it into double digits for a few minutes until the Mavericks forced a live-ball turnover and P.J. Washington slammed it home.
Dallas would be able to keep the lead between eight and 11 for most of the next few minutes, but the 76ers started to chip away toward the end of the quarter. Quentin Grimes knocked in a three in the final seconds, but the Mavs were still able to take a 68-64 lead into halftime.
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The 76ers started the second half on a 6-0 run, 9-0 if you include the three to end the first half, to retake the lead, but P.J. Washington would end that with a runner to tie the game again. Klay Thompson would give the Mavs the lead again with a three, his first of the game. But Philly came right back and retook the lead after a thunderous dunk from Ricky Council IV and a lay-in from Jared Butler.
After the game was tied at 76, the 76ers went on an 11-3 run to establish control, with Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele as the driving factors. Grimes then pushed the lead to 10 by finishing through a foul, but he couldn’t convert the and-one. The 76ers were doing a much better job of controlling the paint on defense, and Dallas was struggling to score from anywhere else. That helped the Sixers take a 98-86 lead into the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia continued to lead by double digits for most of the fourth quarter, as they just showed more energy and effort throughout the frame. For a team that was supposed to be tanking, it didn’t look like they were trying to tank in this game. They would take a 14-point lead before Jason Kidd called a timeout to try and settle things.
Klay Thompson scored seven straight out of the timeout for the Mavs to cut the lead to 10, with Ricky Council hitting a three in there for the 76ers. Dallas got the lead down to six in the final three minutes with some impressive effort from Naji Marshall, but Quentin Grimes calmed the momentum by converting an and-one. Klay Thompson found Spencer Dinwiddie for a corner three to get the lead back to six, then Thompson hit a corner three in transition to cut the lead to three with 1:35 to play.
The Mavericks got a few stops, then Dinwiddie got to the basket to cut the lead to one with less than 40 seconds to go. Quentin Grimes was fouled with 25 seconds remaining, and he’d make both. P.J. Washington had a wide-open layup remaining with about 15 seconds to go, then Jared Butler went 2/2 at the free-throw line to make it a three-point game again. Dinwiddie attempted a tough turn-around three with plenty of time on the clock, missed, and that would do it. The 76ers would go on to win 130-125, just their third win in their last 18 games.
Philly shot the ball well in this game, going 14/36 for the game, getting five from Jalen Hood-Schifino. He had made two three-pointers in 23 career games entering this game. Dallas was just 10/34 from the arc.
Dallas was led by P.J. Washington in his first game back from injury, finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Naji Marshall (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) and Klay Thompson (21 points) weren’t far behind, while Spencer Dinwiddie (18 points, 7 assists), Max Christie (18 points, 8 rebounds, 6/8 shooting), and Brandon Williams (11 points) were also in double figures.
Former Maverick Quentin Grimes led the 76ers in scoring with 28 points and 6 assists on 10/19 shooting, but they had six other players in double figures: Jalen Hood-Schifino (19 points, 5/9 3PT), Guerschon Yabusele (14 points), Jeff Dowtin Jr. (14 points), Oshae Brissett (13 points), Ricky Council IV (13 points, 10 rebounds), and Justin Edwards (10 points).
The Mavericks have a few days off before playing in Indiana against the Pacers on Wednesday.
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