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Streaking 76ers dump Mavericks

Feb 12, 2008 - 4:56 AM By Michael Luongo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- While the Dallas Mavericks continue to struggle on the road, the Philadelphia 76ers have found a way to prosper on their home court.

The Sixers pulled away in the fourth quarter and picked up their fourth straight win with an 84-76 victory over the Mavericks on Monday night.

Andre Miller scored 21 points and Andre Iguodala added 14 for Philadelphia, which improved to 4-0 on its current five-game homestand which will come to an end Wednesday vs. Memphis

"Being at home and having the home court has been huge for us," 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We're playing good basketball, and that was a great win for us."

Dallas had a three-point lead at the half but went cold over the final two quarters, scoring only 23 points. The Mavericks were outscored 18-10 over the game's final 16 minutes as the 76ers pulled away after the game was tied, 66-66.

The Mavericks tied the game on a 3-pointer by Jason Terry with 4:04 to go in the third. Miller put the Sixers back on top with a basket and that was followed by a dunk by Samuel Dalembert which gave Philadelphia a 70-66 lead after three.

"They look for me to get them in the right positions," Miller said. "They have confidence in me in making plays for them. It's paying off for everybody. We all getting involved and we're all getting a chance to make a play. That is what basketball is all about."

Philadelphia got a basket by Iguodala to take a 72-66 lead with 11:16 to go. A pair of free throws by Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki followed by a basket by Terry pulled the Mavericks to 72-70.

A jumper by Louis Williams made it 74-70 with 7:19 to go. That started a 12-1 Sixers run that was capped by a Williams jumper which gave Philadelphia an 84-71 lead with 3:34 to play in the game.

"We're just trying to finish games," Iguodala said. "Early in the year, we would come into the fourth with the lead and we would lose it. We've shown that we've improved in that area where we can finish games out."

Dallas was coming off a 101-82 loss at New Jersey on Sunday and things did not go much better for it against Philadelphia. The Mavs shot 35 percent (22-of-77) from the field, including 6-of-23 from the arc.

They missed 13 straight field goals between 4:05 of the third quarter and 7:40 of the fourth.

"That's the second game in a row where we had a lead, and we kicked the game away," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "We had another awful third quarter and a bad second half. We're just not handling adversity right now."

Philadelphia opened the third quarter by scoring six straight points, taking a 56-53 lead on consecutive baskets by rookie Thaddeus Young. The Sixers capped the 9-2 run with a three by Willie Green which gave the Sixers a 59-55 lead.

Green scored 12 points for Philadelphia.

"It was a great effort on out part," Green said. "Once the game slowed down we took good shots and played defense real well."

Josh Howard scored 17 points and Nowitzki added 15 for Dallas, which missed 13 straight field goals in a span of 8:25 that bridged the third and fourth quarters.