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Kyrie Irving and teammate Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks celebrate against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round at American Airlines Center on March 2, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 133-126. (Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES -Luka Doncic scored 42 points and Kyrie Irving added 40 as the Dallas Mavericks thwarted the Philadelphia 76ers’ late comeback bid on Thursday with a 133-126 NBA victory.
Offensive fireworks are expected in a game that features two of the league’s top scorers in Doncic and 76ers center Joel Embiid.
But the seamless combination of Doncic and Irving is a revelation after the Mavs have gone 1-4 with the two on the court since Irving arrived via trade with Brooklyn last month.
The two combined for 18 assists. Doncic made 13 of 22 attempts from the floor, hitting seven of the Mavs’ 25 three-pointers.
Irving made six of eight three-pointers, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Mavericks respond after the Sixers cut a 25-point deficit to four with a 15-0 run to open the final period.
The Mavericks seized control with an explosive third quarter as they went on a 20-4 tear and outscored Philadelphia 39-24.
The 76ers, however, remembered Dallas’ collapse from a 27-point lead in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers.
“We’ve got to keep going,” Irving said of the Mavericks’ recent lapses. “We have had some difficult matches – with three points, two points – and we have to finish stronger.
“It’s a lesson to learn, but I’m glad we got the win tonight,” Irving said after he and Doncic became the first Dallas teammates to score at least 40 points in the same game.
Embiid scored 35 points in his return after Wednesday’s 76ers win in Miami.
He and three-time leading scorer James Harden were on the bench as the 76ers struck back early in the fourth, when Tyrese Maxey’s basket pulled Philadelphia within 110-106 with 9:22 left.
Irving’s basket, off a pass from Doncic, then gave Dallas its first points of the period. He was fouled on the play and converted the free throw, then he and Doncic hit back-to-back threes to push the lead back to double digits.
Harden, who had 19 points and 10 assists in the first half, was limited to eight points after the interval and gave up two turnovers in the fourth.
In Washington, Kyle Kuzma’s big night led the Wizards to a 119-108 win over the Toronto Raptors in the first two games between the teams in three days.
Kuzma set the tone by scoring the first 10 points of the contest, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk to put the Wizards on pace.
He was still strong in the fourth, sparking a 12-2 Wizards run with a three-pointer and a layup that put Washington up 19 points.
Kuzma finished with 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 25 as the Wizards closed the gap on the Raptors in the race for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
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