Philadelphia 76ers 91-109 Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks claimed victories in both games against the 76ers in this regular season. Mavericks legend and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki came to the American Airlines Center to watch the game and the team's young men did not disappoint him.

Neither side had their best big men – Dallas missed Kristaps Porzingis and Philadelphia lacked Joel Embiid. Philadelphia gained the upper hand thanks to their bigger size and better athleticism. Though they were 1-11 from the 3-point line in the first quarter, Dallas committing eight turnovers still put Philadelphia in the leading place 22-20.

Philadelphia continued to assault Dallas' paint in the second quarter and as Tobias Harris made two straight field goals, their lead grew to 12 points (45-33). Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle immediately called timeout and gave his players the secret of reversing the situation.

That secret was zone defense. The Mavericks' new trick soon took effect as they only allowed five points in the rest of the second quarter. Moreover, zone defense continued to be the 76ers' nightmare in the second half. The Mavericks had at least two layers of defense standing between the basket and the 76ers' players. The best solution to tear such defense is 3-pointer but that's also what the 76ers lack. As a result, the team only made five field goals to 16 points in this quarter.

Struggling in offense obviously hurt Philadelphia's passion for the game. In spite of their better physical conditions, they allowed too many offensive rebounds by Dallas which then turned most of them into easy points. Dallas' lead continued to grow in the fourth quarter and as Doncic made his last two free throws, the game already became a blowout (105-84).

Doncic was the Mavericks' hero in the game, though his numbers might now show it. Having been cold for almost the whole game (4-15 in FG), he did not bet on 3-pointers (1-3) as he used to. Instead, the 20-year-old genius kept striking the 76ers' basket, earning 12 free throws and made 10 of them. Besides, he also got eight rebounds and 12 assists. It seemed Doncic was beginning to learn how to lead his team with more than scoring.

By contrast, Ben Simmons again failed his team. Having had a better start than Doncic by putting down 11 points, two rebounds, five assists and four steals in the first half, Simmons almost disappeared in the second half. Dallas' zone defense and chasing for offensive rebounds took away his only offensive weapons: rim attack and early offense. Again that question has to be asked even though it has been repeated for so many times: when will Simmons learn how to shoot?

Los Angeles Lakers 125-110 Oklahoma City Thunder

Having led the purple and gold to victory under the weather on Friday, LeBron James had to sit on Saturday's road game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Without him and Anthony Davis, many could not help worrying for the Lakers because the Thunder have already taken down multiple strong teams including the Clippers and the 76ers at home this season.

Nonetheless, the Lakers' bench squad dismissed people's worries with incredible performance. Kyle Kuzma made 15 of 24 attempts, including four 3-pointers to score 36 points. Rajon Rondo dropped 21 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in front of Chris Paul. Dwight Howard contributed a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds plus three assists and two blocks.

The purple and gold gave OKC a head-on blow in the first quarter by leading 41-19 and 14 came from Kuzma. The home team launched multiple counterstrikes in the rest three quarters of the game but the Lakers always had someone to stand out. For example, Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook and their 3-pointers in Q2; Rondo and his seven consecutive points in Q3.

Thanks to their second eight-straight-win-streak, the Lakers are sitting steadily as No. 1 of the Western Conference.

New Orleans Pelicans 105-140 Boston Celtics

The Celtics finally put an end to their three-straight-loss-streak as they claimed a big win over the Pelicans at the TD Garden. Jayson Tatum put down career-high 41 points in 30 minutes. He also became the second player in the Celtics' history to get 40+points in under 30 minutes after Larry Bird.

"It felt good. It felt like we played with a purpose today on both ends from the beginning of the game. Starters came up and finally did our job. I know we haven't been playing well but it felt good to start the game off right," said Tatum.

After Saturday's win, Boston narrowed down their trail against the Miami Heat to 0.5 win as No. 3 in the Eastern Conference.

Other games on Saturday (home teams in bold):

Chicago Bulls 108-99 Detroit Pistons

Cleveland Cavaliers 111-103 Denver Nuggets

Milwaukee Bucks 122-101 Portland Trail Blazers

Minnesota Timberwolves 109-139 Houston Rockets