PHILADELPHIA _ That home-court advantage that the 76ers had enjoyed for most of the season has lost some luster the last two games.
Failing to take advantage of a towering performance from Joel Embiid, the Sixers lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 117-98, on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Sixers (20-10) and their second home defeat in a row. They are now 14-2 at home and host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
Dallas (19-9) has become the opposite of the Sixers _ strong on the road and so-so at home. The Mavericks improved to 11-2 on the road to continue a good week for the club after it snapped Milwaukee's 18-game win streak on Monday.
The Mavs are just 8-7 at home.
Embiid finished with 33 points and 17 rebounds.
The Sixers cut Dallas' lead to 94-87 when Trey Burke made a jumper with 7 minutes and 11 seconds left, but the Mavs then assumed control.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavs with 27 points.
The Sixers faced a considerable amount of zone defense, but Dallas didn't use it as much as Miami did in Wednesday's 108-104 win over the Sixers.
Still, the Sixers struggled against the zone, just not to the degree they did in Wednesday's loss.
This was the third straight game the Mavs have played without MVP candidate Luka Doncic, who is sidelined with a sprained right ankle. The 6-foot-7 Doncic is averaging 29.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.9 assists.
Starting in his place was former Villanova star Jalen Brunson, who has been a great find since being selected in the second round of the 2018 draft.
The Sixers showed such respect for Brunson that they began the game with Ben Simmons guarding him.
Without Doncic, Dallas' top offensive player is 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis.
Despite his size, Porzingis is not a post player and likes to hang around the perimeter. He has deep range, as evidenced by a 30-foot three-point field goal in the second quarter.
He also is ferocious when driving to the basket. And no doubt he alters shots that he doesn't block.
Porzingis finished with 22 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Early on, nobody could stop Hardaway Jr., who exploded for 19 first quarter points, including going 5 for 5 from 3-point range to give the Mavs a 35-28 lead.
Hardaway wouldn't score in the second quarter, but the Mavs led by as many as 17, thanks to unheralded 6-6 second-year player Ryan Broekhoff.
He was just averaging 2.8 points in six games, but the Australian, who played at Valparaiso, had eight first half points.
Three-pointers by Furkan Korkmaz and Joel Embiid in the final 31 seconds cut Dallas' lead to 63-57 at halftime.
Embiid kept the Sixers in the game during the first half with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers.
