Joel Embiid had 36 points and seven rebounds to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Dallas Mavericks 113-95 on Monday.
Embiid was 10 of 17 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line in only 26 minutes.
Furkan Korkmaz added 20 points in just 18 minutes off the bench while Tobias Harris and Shake Milton contributed 10 each for the Sixers.
With the win, Philadelphia moved past the Brooklyn Nets and back into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 32 points, his 19th game this season with at least 30, while Jalen Brunson added 15. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Mavericks played without Kristaps Porzingis, who was resting while recovering from a recent knee injury. Dallas fell to 9-10 this season when Porzingis doesn't play.
Embiid, who made his first eight free throws, dropped in 1 of 2 with 3:29 remaining in the second quarter to give the Sixers a 51-44 lead.
Embiid carried the Sixers with 23 on their way to a 60-48 advantage at halftime. It was the 21st time this season that Embiid has scored at least 20 in the first half.
Without Porzingis, the Mavericks looked to be out of sync offensively for much of the half. Doncic led the way with 20, but the Mavericks shot just 39 percent.
When Seth Curry hit a deep 3-pointer with 8:21 left in the third, the Sixers extended their lead to 72-55.
Dallas, which missed 10 consecutive 3-pointers during one long stretch, fell behind 88-69 at the end of the third.
The Sixers controlled the tempo in the opening few minutes of the fourth and moved ahead 95-74 following a trey by Korkmaz.
Doncic knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:25 remaining, but the Mavericks still trailed 101-83.
Dallas did close within 104-91 when rookie Josh Green threw down a dunk with 3:45 to go, but Dwight Howard responded with a dunk on the Sixers' next possession.
--Field Level Media
Philadelphia | Dallas | |
Joel Embiid 36 | Scoring | Luka Doncic 32 |
Ben Simmons 7 | Assists | Luka Doncic 4 |
Joel Embiid 7 | Rebounds | Dorian Finney-Smith 11 |
Joel Embiid 14 | Free Throws Made | Luka Doncic 10 |
Furkan Korkmaz 2 | Steals | Dwight Powell 3 |
Tobias Harris 2 | Blocks | Luka Doncic 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Philadelphia | 113 | 48.8 | 12-31 | 23-33 | 24 | 40 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
Dallas | 95 | 42.2 | 9-36 | 16-20 | 16 | 46 | 3 | 7 | 15 |