The Philadelphia 76ers (49-26) will host the Dallas Mavericks (37-39) on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center, a pivotal game for both teams’ playoff positioning. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) from Philadelphia.
With the playoffs approaching, the Mavericks have fallen in the standings. They’ve gone 3-7 in their last 10 games and currently hold the 11th seed in the West. They’re only 2.5 games out of the No. 6 seed, so they’re not out of the running yet. They snapped a 4-game losing streak on Monday with a 127-104 win over the Indiana Pacers, easily covering as 7.5-point favorites.
The 76ers have stalled out recently, too. They’ve lost 3 games in a row, most recently losing 116-111 to the Denver Nuggets, though they did cover the spread as 10-point underdogs. Philadelphia is 6-4 in its last 10 games but the 3-game losing streak has the team sitting 2.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed.
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Mavericks at 76ers odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:13 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Mavericks +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | 76ers -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Mavericks +3.5 (-105 | 76ers -3.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 231.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Mavericks at 76ers key injuries
Mavericks
- PF Maxi Kleber (hamstring) questionable
- PG Frank Ntilikina (knee) questionable
76ers
- C Joel Embiid (calf) questionable
- SG James Harden (Achilles) questionable
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Mavericks at 76ers picks and predictions
Prediction
76ers 117, Mavericks 110
Moneyline
As poorly as both teams have been playing recently, the 76ers are still the much better group. The biggest question with them is the health of Embiid and Harden, coming in with questionable tags. Given their uncertain health, I’m not comfortable betting on the Sixers to win outright at the -175 number.
If one or both of them is ruled out, you’ll be able to get the 76ers ML at a much better number. But for now, I would PASS.
Against the spread
Even with their current 3-game losing streak, the 76ers have covered the spread in 6 of their last 10 games. The Mavericks are 5-4-1 ATS in that same span, but they lost 2 of their last 3 games outright as favorites of 12.5 points and 15.5 points. Dallas is an impossible team to trust right now.
BET 76ERS -3.5 (-115) at home to cover the spread, though waiting to hear about Embiid’s and Harden’s statuses isn’t a bad idea.
Over/Under
The total has gone Under in each of the Mavericks’ last 3 games and in 5 of their last 6 as they’ve only scored more than 109 points twice in their last 6. The Under is also 4-1 in the 76ers’ last 5 games and the only time it went over was when the Phoenix Suns put up 125 points in a 20-point win over Philly.
BET UNDER 231.5 (-108).
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