DALLAS _ On a Halloween theme night at American Airlines Center, the Philadelphia 76ers looked like a young team that could be scary good in the not-too-distant future.
The Mavericks?
The scariest thing about them right now is their record, which is even more gruesome than it was last year at this time.
With rookie Ben Simmons showcasing his versatility, the Sixers took charge down the stretch to squeeze out a 112-110 victory despite a heartfelt comeback in the final minute.
Simmons, drafted in 2016 but who sat out all last season, flirted with a triple double, finishing with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, outdueling fellow rookie Dennis Smith Jr., who had 12 points and seven assists.
The Mavericks had trouble on the boards against the long, tall Sixers.
That didn't stop Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews from trying to pull out a miracle win at the finish.
The Mavericks had fallen behind 109-102, but Smith's layup cut it to five. Barnes, who had 25 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers, the second with 8.9 seconds left, to bring the Mavericks within 111-110.
They had no choice but to foul and Jerryd Bayless was fouled with 6.6 left. He hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game.
Yogi Ferrell was fouled with 0.2 seconds left and he missed the first free throw. He intentionally missed the second, but the Mavericks could not tip in the rebound.
The Mavericks started 2-5 last season, which bottomed out into a 2-13 start. They were hoping to at least keep pace with last year through seven games.
They were within a couple points early in the fourth quarter before Simmons knifed through the lane for a two-handed jam to make it 91-87.
Keeping Simmons out of the paint was problematic, to say the least.
Coach Rick Carlisle said Simmons was No. 3 in the league in scoring in the paint. And he did nothing to hurt that ranking against the Mavericks.
The NBA is getting smaller and faster, but the Sixers clearly weren't on the list to receive that memo.
They started a lineup with four players 6-9 or taller, including the 6-10 point guard, Simmons, who was a matchup nightmare for the Mavericks in the first half before picking up his third foul.
Simmons showed why he's a frontrunner for rookie of the year with some dazzling moves in the paint and by filling up the stat sheet.
But by halftime, the Mavericks were only down 57-56 despite having trailed by as much as 13 in the half.
Clearly, the presence of Simmons was something the Mavericks had to game-plan for, but even then, they couldn't slow him down.
"He's a little different than anything else going on in the game," Carlisle said. "There aren't really any guys that big playing the point. You could say (James) Harden, but he's not 6-10. You can say this is a new trend, but there aren't a lot of 6-10 guys that can handle and do these kind of skill things growing on trees. This is a very special player. It's a big task to keep him in front."
And that it was.
Also, they struggled when Simmons was off the court, too. Late in the third quarter, the Mavericks were outscored 15-4 to fall behind 89-78 going into the fourth quarter.
Center Joel Embiid added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers.
