Joel Embiid scored 23 points and the Sixers held Luka Doncic to 19 points in their 111-97 win over the Mavericks on Feb. 25.
Sixers (36-17) at Mavericks (29-23)
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
• The Mavericks are coming off a 119-117 loss to San Antonio on Sunday and will play their 11th game of the season on the second night of a back-to-back. So far this season, the Mavs are 4-6 on zero days rest and have averaged 108.1 points per game, which is 3.5 ppg lower than their overall season average.
• Over the past three games, Kristaps Porzingis is averaging 26.7 points on 53.3%-47.4%-100% shooting splits to go with 14.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Porzingis finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds against the Spurs on Sunday, his second 30+ point, 15+ rebound game of the season. Only three players have more such games this season, one of which is Joel Embiid (3).
• Philadelphia beat Dallas handily 111-97 in their first meeting of the season on Feb. 25 back when the Mavericks were still without Porzingis. Joel Embiid finished with 23 points on 5-20 shooting from the field and 11-12 at the free-throw line, while Dwight Howard added 14 points on 6-7 shooting in 16 minutes off the bench. Luka Doncic finished with 19 points, three rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes. It is just one of two career games for Doncic in which he’s played at least 29 minutes (154 such games) and finished with fewer than five rebounds and five assists.
• The Sixers are 3-1 since Joel Embiid returned to the lineup on April 3 after missing three weeks. Over those four games, Embiid has averaged 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. The Sixers also have outscored their opponents by a team-best 55 points in Embiid’s 120 minutes on the court.
• The Sixers rank second in the league in steals (8.9 per game) and sixth in points off turnovers (18.1 per game). However, the Mavericks commit the third-fewest turnovers (12.1 per game) and allow only the third-fewest points off turnovers (14.6 per game).
Nikola Jokic’s triple-double (23 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) offset Stephen Curry’s 35 points in Denver’s win over Golden State on Jan. 14.
Nuggets (34-19) at Warriors (25-28)
10 p.m. ET, ESPN
• Stephen Curry needs 19 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain (17,783) as the Warriors’ all-time scoring leader. Curry has scored at least 32 points in each of his past six games – the longest such streak since Bradley Beal last season (seven games from Jan. 22 to Feb 3, 2020). Curry is already the Warriors’ franchise leader in assists (4,889) and 3-pointers made (2,709), and also ranks second in steals (1,624), third in games played (744), fourth in defensive rebounds (2,893) and field goals made (6,127) and seventh in free throws made (2,802).
• The Nuggets had their eight-game win streak snapped on Sunday, their longest win streak since putting together a franchise-record 15 in a row from Feb. 23 to March 23, 2013. The Nuggets will look to rebound quickly as Monday features their ninth game on the second night of a back-to-back. So far, the Nuggets are 4-4 on zero days rest.
• Nikola Jokic ranks third in the league with 24 double-digit assist games, trailing only Harden (27) and Westbrook (32) – two players with three of last four assist titles. Jokic ranks fourth in the league in assists at 8.8 per game. Jokic (2020-21 and previous two seasons) and Wilt Chamberlain (1966-67, 1967-68) are the only two centers to ever average at least seven assists per game. If Jokic maintains his current mark (8.8 apg), it will go down as the highest assist average ever for a center.
• Denver won the first meeting with Golden State, 114-104 on Jan. 14, as Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic both shined. Curry finished with 35 points (14-23 FG, 5-11 3P), 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while Jokic had 23 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals. Curry leads the league in 35-point games (15) and ranks second in the league in scoring (29.9 ppg) behind Bradley Beal. Jokic leads the league in double-doubles (47) and ranks second in triple-doubles (14) behind Russell Westbrook.
• Stephen Curry leads the NBA in scoring since the All-Star break, averaging 30.7 points while playing in 10 of Golden State’s 16 games. Andrew Wiggins has been the Warriors’ second-leading scorer at 20.5 ppg in all 16 games. The Nuggets have three players averaging over 20 points since the break: Nikola Jokic (24.1), Michael Porter Jr. (21.1) and Jamal Murray (20.1).
