Turnovers Doom Sixers in Loss to Dallas

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Dallas 92, Philadelphia 86 – Box Score

This current version of the Sixers reminds me of the old board game Mouse Trap. As you progressed through the game, you added one piece at a time to the huge, elaborate trap sprawling across the board. At the end, every of the pieces needed to work in perfect harmony in order for the final cage to drop down and capture the mouse. The only problem was that it was a $20 board game for kids and more often than not, the pieces wouldn’t perfectly align and the trap wouldn’t work to completion.

That’s how it feels when watching Philadelphia right now; there are so many moving parts and all of them need to work for the Sixers to grab that win. They need a strong scoring performance from Jahlil Okafor: 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Check. Hold Dirk Nowitzki to a below average night. 21 points, but on just 6-16 shooting. Check. Limit the turnovers. Oh man, the swinging boot didn’t make contact.

The Sixers dug themselves into a huge hole in the first quarter, committing 8 turnovers in the frame, most of them of the unforced, head-shaking variety. Chandler Parsons had a huge first half, scoring 20 points before heading to the locker room, even while heading to the locker room briefly after catching an elbow to the face. 20 points in the first half. Still on a tight minutes restriction coming off offseason knee surgery, Parsons finished with those 20 points in just 20 minutes of action.

Still, the Sixers fought back, clawing back from a 19-point deficit to take their first lead of the game with 8 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Hollis Thompson continued his strong shooting, finishing with 12 points on 3-4 from behind the arc (his lone miss was a desperation heave at the end of the game). Also, T.J. McConnell had a nice bounce-back game, recording 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. With backup point guard Phil Pressey out due to illness, the Sixers offense fell apart when McConnell left the contest.

When it came down to it though, the turnovers (of which the Sixers committed a whopping 27 on the game) were just too much. Up 2 with 5 minutes remaining, 3 of Philadelphia’s next 4 possessions ended with a turnover. Once Dallas was back out in front, Dirk Nowitzki showed why he’s a Hall-of-Famer even on an off night, draining a dagger three-pointer to extend the Mavericks’ advantage to six. There were some good signs from the Sixers Monday night, but they’re still struggling to fit every piece on the board just right. They’ll be back at it Wednesday against the Pacers.

Other Game Notes:

• It wasn’t the worst night for Nerlens Noel given that he recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. However, some of the better decision-making we saw early in the season has evaporated the last couple games; he had 5 turnovers against the Mavs, some of which were just really head-scratching plays. Hopefully, this is just a minor blip for Nerlens.
• Robert Covington made his eagerly anticipate return to the lineup and showed his rust. He went just 2-8 from the field, and 0-4 from three, with many of the shots badly off the mark. We’ll cut him some slack for now.
• One guy who is running out of slack though is Nik Stauskas. Sauce Castillo continues to be ice-cold from the field, missing all 4 of his shots and getting benched for most of the second half. On the broadcast, Alaa said it after a missed three that it was a good play because Nik didn’t slump his shoulders afterwards. Not exactly what you hope to hear about your starting shooting guard.