The Oklahoma City Thunder and their 34-year-old point guard Chris Paul again taught young players a lesson as they claimed a comeback victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday.

Dallas Mavericks 101-106 Oklahoma City Thunder

After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers two days earlier, the Mavericks did not want to make it a streak and thus were on their A-game from the beginning. Luka Doncic dominated OKC's roster in the first quarter and dropped 17 points, giving the Mavericks a 32-20 lead.

The Thunder in the second quarter gradually narrowed the score difference with their defense. The game was stalemated from the second half: OKC is more experienced and more consistent than Mavericks, so it's hard to shake them off; the Mavericks outplayed the Thunder and Doncic was their go-to guy.

After Doncic helped Dallas expand their lead to six points (94-88) in the fourth quarter, Paul, stood out for Oklahoma. In the following four minutes, the 34-year-old claimed 14 points and by the time he was done, his team already regained the lead 102-101 before pocketing the final win.

Having played 14 seasons in the league, Paul's already lost some of his previous speed and explosiveness. Nonetheless, he did not need them on the court. Pull-up jump shots, 3-pointers, floaters, all Paul needed was his experience and the techniques he mastered a long time ago.

Philadelphia 76ers 97-115 Indiana Pacers

It's no secret that the 76ers are almost two different teams at home and on the road, just like everybody knows how reliant they are on Joel Embiid this season. However, the 18-point loss to the Pacers at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse was still a shocker.

Indiana had seven players score double-digit points, four from the starting lineup, led by Domantas Sabonis who had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, three from the bench squad that saw T.J. McConnell put down 11 points and 10 assists.

By contrast, Philadelphia only had two players reach double digits in scoring: Josh Richardson (20) and Ben Simmons (18). Tobias Harris and Al Horford, which together cost the team some 289 million U.S. dollars to sign this summer, had only nine and five points respectively.

This was the third straight loss and the sixth one in 10 games for the 76ers. After this, it was surpassed by the Pacers, ranking only No. 6 in the Eastern Conference. We have already talked too much about the team's defects, possible solutions and gave enough reasons for them not to worry too much about the regular season record. Nonetheless, the 76ers should take this loss seriously because it revealed certain problems in their locker room.

"To lose two games and to come in here and not have that same maniacal competitiveness and try to end the year with a competitive performance that you wish would translate to a win is very disappointing," said Philadelphia's head coach Brett Brown after the game.

"I don't think that there's enough accountability in the locker room right now, honestly. I think we got some new guys who don't want to step on toes – including myself. I feel like we just kind of go play and don't compete as much. There have been games where we have and it's been great, but when it's not going good we got to hold each other accountable, so I think that's where a lot of our problems star," said Josh Richardson to reporters after the game.

Teams that have multiple stars are vulnerable to internal conflicts and more so when their stars all need to handle the ball. For example, Horford already expressed his unhappiness to the press before Tuesday's game.

"I still haven't been able to find my rhythm with the team. I'm out (there) for the team and doing what I can to help us. But offensively, I'm very limited with the things that I can do. So I can't control that stuff," said Horford to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. On Monday.

With 46 games to go, the 76ers don't  have that much time to test their franchise or find chemistry. As for coach Brown, he'd better find a way to make the team's stars happy because unlike the players whose maximum contracts just started, it won't cost much to fire him.

Other games on Tuesday (home teams in bold):

Boston Celtics 109-92 Charlotte Hornets

Los Angeles Clippers 105-87 Sacramento Kings

Cleveland Cavaliers 97-117 Toronto Raptors

Golden State Warriors 113-117 San Antonio Spurs

Denver Nuggets 104-130 Houston Rockets