NBA highlights on Dec. 20: Mavericks give 76ers third loss in a row
Li Xiang

Dallas Mavericks 117-98 Philadelphia 76ers

Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Dallas Mavericks dunks in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Dallas Mavericks dunks in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

The absence of Luka Doncic did not seem to bother the Dallas Mavericks too much on Friday, as the team defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 117-98 at the Wells Fargo Center. Kristaps Porzingis continued to make key contributions to Dallas' offense by dropping 22 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. This was already the fourth straight 20+10 game of his, a new record in his career.

Dallas again managed to assign their firepower to as many players as possible. Of their 10-man roster on Friday, only Boban Marjanovic, who played four minutes, did not score. Tim Hardaway Jr. got the team's highest 27 points while the lowest eight points were shared by Delon Wright and Ryan Broekhoff.

Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

Coach Rick Carlisle seemed to be able to read Philadelphia's minds. Having trailed 5-13 in the first quarter, Dallas immediately turned to zone defense, testing the opponents' 3-pointers. Though Philadelphia burying 10 shots from the 3-point line was not a bad response, they could not work their way into Dallas' paint, leading to a lack of consistency with their scoring. As a result, Philadelphia never regained the lead since they lost it in the first quarter.

Overreliance on Joel Embiid was the other cause that cost the 76ers Friday's game. Despite that they have four starting players enjoying maximum contracts, the team only saw three of them put down double-digit points, not to mention that Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson only got 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center, December 20, 2019.

Embiid did everything he could offensively by making three 3-pointers and going seven for nine under the rim. Nonetheless, none of his teammates offered him enough support. Simmons, like he always did, tried all his 10 attempts in the paint and only made four; Tobias Harris went 3/11 to get only seven points. By the way, these three were Philadelphia's only players shot over 10 times in the game.

After the game, Philadelphia's head coach Brett Brown admitted that his team allowed their struggle with offense to affect their defense, but he also pointed out that the Mavericks and the Miami Heat are two of the league's few teams that like to put up zone defense, according to Tencent Sports.

Memphis Grizzlies 107-114 Cleveland Cavaliers

L: Vince Carter of Team USA dunks over Frederic Weis of France in the game at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, September 25, 2000; R: Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies tries to dunk over Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the game at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, December 20, 2019.

L: Vince Carter of Team USA dunks over Frederic Weis of France in the game at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, September 25, 2000; R: Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies tries to dunk over Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the game at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, December 20, 2019.

Two tanking teams ended their battle at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with the second consecutive win for the home team. The Cavaliers owed their victory to Jordan Clarkson, who contributed 33 points off the bench, and John Henson, who delivered seven blocks in 16 minutes.

Though the Grizzlies lost the game, their one-year rookie Ja Morant ignited the arena by almost replicating Vince Carter's epic dunk over French center Frederic Weis at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

In the middle of the first quarter, Morant broke through the defense of three Cavaliers and drove his way right toward the rim. Kevin Love stood right in front of him, trying to earn an offensive foul, but Morant chose to leap high and tried to smash the ball into the hoop. Though the 20-year-old guard did not finish the dunk, he almost leaped over 2.08-meter-tall Love.

"Ja almost ended my professional career with this dunk...that kid is something special," tweeted Love after the game.

Minnesota Timberwolves 100-109 Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center, December 20, 2019.

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Pepsi Center, December 20, 2019.

Nikola Jokic put down his fifth triple-double this season by scoring 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Nuggets achieve their fifth win in a row. This was also the 33rd triple-double in total for Jokic, who now ties Bob Cousy to rank No. 10 in NBA history.

Without Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves suffered their ninth straight loss at the Pepsi Center. Andrew Wiggins had team-high 19 points, but he was almost invisible on the court in the second half. Gorgui Dieng surprised his teammates by burying career-high four 3-pointers to get 18 points.

Orlando Magic 103-118 Portland Trail Blazers

Carmelo Anthony (R) of the Portland Trail Blazers defends Aaron Gordon (L) of the Orlando Magic in the game at the Moda Center, December 20, 2019.

Carmelo Anthony (R) of the Portland Trail Blazers defends Aaron Gordon (L) of the Orlando Magic in the game at the Moda Center, December 20, 2019.

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum again put up great scoring performance together to get 36 and 31 points respectively at the Moda Center. Their efforts brought the third consecutive win to Rip City and help the team remain No. 8 in the Western Conference with a record of 13-16. It seemed the Trail Blazers are walking out the depression of during the beginning of the season.

Carmelo Anthony rarely impressed home fans with incredible defense, but he delivered this time. Though he only played nine minutes, the 35-year-old got five points, six rebounds and three blocks. Unfortunately, he had to exit the game for left knee contusion.

Other games on Friday (home teams in bold):

Sacramento Kings 105-119 Indiana Pacers

Detroit Pistons 93-114 Boston Celtics

Washington Wizards 118-122 Toronto Raptors

New York Knicks 114-129 Miami Heat

Phoenix Suns 108-126 Oklahoma City Thunder

New Orleans Pelicans 102-106 Golden State Warriors