Holiday again sparks 76ers in win over Mavericks

PHILADELPHIA -- Jrue Holiday almost single-handedly carried the Philadelphia 76ers in Sunday's victory over the Phoenix Suns.

This time, he had plenty of help.

After a scintillating 33-point, 13-assist performance two nights ago, Holiday followed that up with an 18-point, seven-assist effort in a 100-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"That's a good team we played," Holiday said. "I'm proud of the win. Any way you can get it, we'll take it."

Evan Turner led the Sixers (9-6) with 22 points and Thaddeus Young also contributed 20 points. Rookie point guard Maalik Wayns played his finest game of the season with 10 points off the bench.

"It was a team effort all the way around," Young said. "Guys stepped up and made big plays when they were needed. We had balance offensively. That's what we've done well in the past. Jrue was great and Evan was great. I did what I could. Like I said, it's all about the team effort here."

With the game tied at 81-81 in the fourth quarter, the Sixers ripped off a 10-0 run. Thaddeus Young had four points during the spurt, but Spencer Hawes, Dorell Wright and Nick Young also had two points each.

"Every game is important," Turner said. "We needed this because we let a couple of other ones slip away. This will help build our resume and we need to get better every day."

The Sixers' victory spoiled the return of forward Elton Brand, who was handed the amnesty clause by the Sixers following last season. Brand was terrific the entire game and wound up with a season-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds.

"It was great to be back, but I wish we could have gotten the win," Brand said. "We did a lot of good things, but we made some crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter and they built enough of a lead that they were able to hold on to."

Chris Kaman paced the Mavericks (7-8) with 20 points and Shawn Marion also scored 17 points. Vince Carter had 15, Darren Collison 12 and O.J. Mayo 11.

Mayo's 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining cut the Sixers' lead to 96-91.

Turner responded with two free throws and Philadelphia quickly went back ahead by seven.

Dallas stayed close and got within 100-98 on Carter's left-handed layup with 37.2 seconds left. The Mavericks closed the gap thanks to an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers by the Sixers.

Mayo had a chance to tie the game when he was fouled with 2.7 seconds remaining. After Mayo missed the first free throw, he missed the second on purpose and the ball bounced to Jae Crowder beyond the 3-point line. Crowder's shot clanged off the backboard and rim and bounced away.

The Mavericks committed eight of their 15 turnovers in the fourth and that ultimately was the difference.

"Disappointment is one thing," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "But I'm not dismayed. I like the effort."

The Sixers started the game by making their first seven shots. But they cooled off and Dallas went ahead by as many as nine points late in the second quarter.

Brand had a terrific first half with 12 points and five rebounds.

"I felt good from the beginning," Brand said. "I got my rhythm early and stayed with it."

Turner led the Sixers with 12 points while Thaddeus Young had nine points.

Kaman also caused major problems in the low post with a team-best 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting as the Mavs took a 56-53 lead into the locker room.

NOTES: Dallas guard Vince Carter played in his 1,001st career game. He's the 104th player in NBA history to reach the 1,000-game-plus milestone. ... Mavericks assistant coach Jim O'Brien was the Sixers' head coach for one season in 2004-05 when he compiled a 43-39 record and a playoff berth. ... The Sixers have played 10 of their first 15 games at home. Their next two games will be on the road against Charlotte Friday and Chicago Saturday. ... Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday already has five double-doubles this season after recording just one last season. ... Forward Thaddeus Young has started every game this season after starting only two games combined the previous two seasons for the Sixers. ... The Sixers improved to 5-1 against Western Conference teams. ... Dallas has dropped two games in a row.