Dallas Mavericks vs Philadelphia 76ers Prediction 1/1/26 NBA Picks Today

The Dallas Mavericks play host to the Philadelphia 76ers at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.

The Dallas Mavericks have been in a slump as they’ve lost five of their last six games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game slide after falling just short to the Trail Blazers in a 125-122 road defeat on Monday. Max Christie led the team with 25 points on eight of 12 shooting, Brandon Williams added 22 points on eight of 12 shooting off the bench, Cooper Flagg scored 15 points with eight assists, while Daniel Gafford and Naji Marshall each scored 17 points. As a team, the Mavericks shot 51 percent from the field and 11 of 32 from the 3-point line, but they allowed the Trail Blazers to get off to a flyer and they had to claw their way back from an early 17-point deficit, only to go cold and score just five points in the final 3:12 to fall short in the end.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers have been in decent form as they’ve split their last eight games and they will be eager to build some momentum after outlasting the Grizzlies in a thrilling 139-136 overtime road win on Tuesday. Joel Embiid led the team with 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Tyrese Maxey tallied 34 points with 12 assists on 13 of 21 shooting, VJ Edgecombe scored 25 points while Paul George chipped in with 17 points. As a team, the 76ers shot 46 percent from the field and 15 of 42 from the 3-point line as they missed out on a chance to close out the game in regulation after leading by seven points with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter, before they made up for it in overtime where they held the Grizzlies to just eight points to escape with the narrow win.

The Mavericks are still missing Dereck Lively II, Kyrie Irving and Dante Exum, while the 76ers have ruled out Kelly Oubre Jr and Trendon Watfford. The Mavericks could really do with a win to get their season back on track after losing five of their last six games and the good news is that they are expecting to have Anthony Davis back in the lineup for this game. The 76ers come into this matchup as the team in better form and they would’ve taken plenty of confidence from their gritty overtime win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday. You can make an argument for either side here, but the 76ers beat the Mavericks by 121-114 back on Dec 11 and I am expecting a similar result here with the 76ers winning a narrow win.

Peter Tran's Free Pick: Philadelphia -1

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