Dallas @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 1, 2019 ) Philadelphia 102, Dallas 122

Dallas star point guard Luka Doncic will miss his third straight outing when the Mavericks visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Doncic is sidelined with an ankle injury suffered on Saturday and he isn't expected to return until sometime next week.

Philadelphia seeks to rebound from its first home loss - 108-104 to the Miami Heat on Wednesday - after opening the slate with 14 straight wins for its best home start since winning the first 22 in the 1966-67 campaign. "We weren't making shots and when you're not making shots, especially when a team is playing zone, they're going to keep on doing it," 76ers center Joel Embiid told reporters of Miami's tactics. "They did it all game and that's how they won the game." Dallas dropped a 109-103 home decision to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday and has lost three of its last five games. Mavericks power forward Kristaps Porzingis recorded 23 points and 13 rebounds against Boston and he is averaging 23.8 points and 11.8 rebounds over the past four games.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (18-9): Doncic traveled with the team for the quick road trip to Philadelphia and Toronto and coach Rick Carlisle will closely monitor any improvements in his condition. "There's no timetable. He's not on the trip because there's a plan of him playing in either of the games at this point," Carlisle told reporters. "He's traveling so he can continue treatment, continue being with the team and hopefully increasing activity as he gets better." Jalen Brunson is filling in at the point and has posted a career-best 11 assists in both games but he is just 8-of-22 shooting with five turnovers while averaging 11.5 points during the span.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (20-9): Center Joel Embiid returned from a one-game absence due to a upper respiratory illness to produce 22 points and 19 rebounds against Miami for his 18th double-double of the season but he wasn't happy with the loss. "I feel like in the fourth quarter, I was a little bit aggressive and my teammates found me," Embiid told reporters. "In the first half, that wasn't the case. We have to do a better job at being locked in from the beginning." Forward Tobias Harris tallied 20 points and has reached that mark in eight of the past 10 games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 122-102 home win over the 76ers on April 1.

2. Philadelphia SG Josh Richardson is 11-of-32 shooting over the previous two games.

3. Dallas SG Seth Curry (back) and PG Delon Wright (finger) are questionable for Friday's game.

PREDICTION: 76ers 108, Mavericks 102