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Ellis, Mavericks hold off Sixers

Nov 19, 2013 - 6:53 AM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis dished out 10 assists and scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half to help the Dallas Mavericks stay perfect at home with a 97-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion netted 20 points apiece for Dallas, which has won eight in a row over Philadelphia. Jose Calderon scored 14 points and former Sixer Samuel Dalembert had 14 rebounds off the bench.

"76ers played hard tonight," said Dalembert. "They are a very young, good team."

The Mavericks improved to 5-0 at American Airlines Center.

The Sixers led from the opening tip but went down on a Marion transition dunk late in the third quarter and never recovered.

Evan Turner tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Philly, which has lost three in a row. Tony Wroten played well in relief of the injured Michael Carter-Williams with 19 points and five steals, and Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes each contributed a double-double. Young went for 12 points and 11 rebounds while Hawes scored 10 points with 11 boards.

"Well, we give Dallas credit. They're really hard to guard and they're well coached," said Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown. "We didn't help ourselves, but I was proud of our guys. I thought we battled."

The Mavericks missed their first eight shots as Philly jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, but Nowitzki hit a jumper and a deep 3-pointer around a Marion runner to close the gap.

Dallas tied it at 21-21 on a Vince Carter free throw early in the second, but Lavoy Allen's jumper kept Philly in front. The Sixers then went on a run and went ahead 35-25 on Turner's reserve layup at the 7:49 mark.

The Mavs closed the first half with four straight to cut its deficit to 47-43 at intermission.

Ellis came alive in the third quarter, depositing 13 points including 6-for-6 from the foul line. He made a pair for a 69-68 Philadelphia margin before Carter ignited a fastbreak with his block on Hollis Thompson at the rim. Jae Crowder came up with the ball and fed Marion, whose dunk at the 1:44 mark gave Dallas its first lead.

"My teammates look for me to make plays not only for myself but for others," said Ellis, "and they put me in a great position, so that's what I tried to do."

Trailing 86-81 midway through the fourth, Turner and Wroten both missed a set of free throws and the home team capitalized with a Dalembert jam.

Late in the action, Turner drove the lane and appeared to get hit by multiple defenders but lost the ball without drawing a foul. It led to a Calderon trey in transition, and Turner was given a technical foul. Nowitzki hit the free throw and on the next Philly possession with just over two minutes remaining, Young lost the ball and Marion slammed it at the other end to put the game away.

Game Notes

Crowder made his first start of the season in place of Dalembert ... The Sixers shot just 6-of-21 from 3-point range and 12-of-22 from the foul line ... Both teams had 53 rebounds ... Dallas rookie Shane Larkin made his NBA debut, scoring three points to go with three assists in 8:35 ... Philadelphia returns home to host Toronto on Wednesday. The Mavericks welcome division rival Houston on Wednesday.