By CHRISTOPHER A. VITO
cvito@delcotimes.com

PHILADELPHIA — A pair of well-timed misses at the free-throw line, and another from 30 feet away, saved the 76ers.

A fourth-quarter spurt gave the Sixers enough to fend off the Dallas Mavericks, 100-98, Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.

Vince Carter didn’t make it easy, using a flashback from the past to keep Dallas competitive until the final whistle. The Mavericks, trailing 100-93 inside the final 60 ticks, got a clutch 3-pointer from Carter as the shot clock wound down. Then the aging star spun through the lane for two more on the Mavericks’ next trip up the floor, making it a 100-98 game with 17.4 seconds to go.


The Sixers (9-6) got a huge lift from Evan Turner. Aside from his outpouring on offense, which featured 22 points, Turner locked onto Dallas’ O.J. Mayo, their most-potent scorer, in the final minute. He prevented Mayo from hurting the Sixers.

But Mayo got to the line, inducing Jrue Holiday into committing a foul with 2.7 to play. Mayo bricked both and Jae Crowder’s lob at the basket as time expired caromed off the glass.

Thad Young added 20 points and seven rebounds and Jrue Holiday had 18 points and seven assists for the Sixers, who’ve won two in a row. Former Sixer Elton Brand coupled 17 points and eight boards for the Mavericks.

Remember those slow starts that had plagued the Sixers? They certainly didn’t.

The Sixers made their first seven attempts from the floor, staking a 17-10 lead. Halfway through the first quarter, they already had forced Dallas into using a pair of timeouts, the latter of which was called after Jrue Holiday connected with Thad Young on a demonstrative two-hand slam.

But defense failed the Sixers, who trailed, 31-28, after one quarter despite shooting 60 percent.

Brand had a rather productive first half against his former club, pairing a season-best 12 points with five boards in only 10 minutes of play. The 14th-year forward came off the bench eight minutes into the game, to a decent outpouring of support.

Brand had plenty to do with the cushion the Mavericks enjoyed at halftime, leading, 56-53. Brand and the rest of the Mavericks’ bench combined for 29 points, compared to the Sixers’ 10 – eight of which were had by rookie Maalik Wayns.

At one stretch of the second quarter, the Sixers were shooting 3-for-12. It wasn’t pretty.

The third quarter brought more pain for the Sixers, who were unable to match Brand and his one-time Los Angeles Clippers teammate Chris Kaman in an underwhelming-yet-productive frontcourt for Dallas.

Kaman, the 7-footer, somehow had come away with fewer rebounds than Jason Richardson by the third. It didn’t prevent Kaman from making an impact in the scoring column. His 3-point play three minutes after the break got things even at 61-all, following a nice Sixers spurt.

Sensing the need for a big moment, Sixers coach Doug Collins found one in arguing a foul call against Thad Young midway through the third. Collins chided official Michael Smith for blowing the whistle on Young, who made zero contact with the Mavericks’ Dominique Jones on a dunk attempt.

A few reciprocating foul calls at both ends of the floor, make-goods for Collins’ observation, ensued and the Sixers stayed toe to toe with Dallas all the while. Spencer Hawes knocked down an awkward baseline jumper in the final minute to send the Sixers into the fourth quarter with a 75-73 advantage.

The Sixers made some headway in the fourth quarter, starting with a putback from Spencer Hawes. It keyed an 11-0 run for the Sixers, that helped put away Dallas.

Holiday swiped a Darren Collison pass, the first of five turnovers in as many possessions by the Mavericks, then pushed it to the other end. There, a series of solid passes led to an easy slam for Dorell Wright off a Nick Young feed.

Jason Richardson picked Kaman’s pocket the next time the Mavericks had the ball, and Young’s floater boosted the Sixers’ lead to 87-81. Another Holiday steal, followed by a 3-point play from Thad Young, increased their advantage to 10 points, to 91-81, their largest of the game at that stage.

How big did the basket look during the Sixers’ stretch run? Even Kwame Brown got into the fun. Brown had a stickback at the rim, off a Holiday miss, and converted a pair of free throws for some of his six points and eight rebounds.