PHILADELPHIA – If Max Christie can have this kind of impact on the Mavericks, we can only wait with great anticipation about what Anthony Davis might deliver.
It didn’t take long for the new Maverick swingman to prove his worth as he provided a major boost off the bench in the first half Tuesday in a game that the Mavericks overcame a miserable finish to the third quarter.
On a night when Joel Embiid returned after a month on the shelf for Philadelphia, the Mavericks struggled in the second half, rallied furiously, but in the end took a 118-116 loss to the 76ers Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.
This exhausting trip has turned ugly as the Mavericks lost for the third time in four games to fall to 25-26. The trip mercifully concludes on Thursday at Boston.
The introduction of Christie, however, was one of the bright spots as he finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes.
“Christie was great,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively, he was better than advertised. I thought he did a really good job for the first game with no practice. He showed his skills of being a basketball player on both sides of the floor.
“He showed his basketball IQ on the offensive end and defensively, he’s going to compete. I thought he played great.”
Christie said he came into his first Mavericks’ game with no expectations with regard to playing time, shots, who he might end up guarding (it was often Tyrese Maxey) and he made the decision to just try to do what he does best.
“A lot of emotions,” Christie said. “I’m still obviously learning some sets and the personality of the team. I had fun even though we didn’t win. It was good to get back out on the floor and get that first game out of the way.
“I was just playing hard and reacting to what was going on. It helped that I was making my threes, too.”
It was a clear indication of how quickly Christie acclimated to the Mavericks when he was on the court at crunch time with the game on the line.
“Obviously, it’s a vote of confidence for me,” he said. “It’s good that the coaches trust me to put me in at the end of the game.”
And the game was there for the taking.
The Mavericks were outscored 21-4 to close out the third quarter and fell behind 94-87.
But it didn’t take long for them to make the Sixers sweat as the Mavericks moved ahead 109-107 with 4:23 to go when Christie hit a midrange jumper, Irving got free for a rare slam-dunk and Klay Thompson knocked in a three-pointer.
The game went back and forth until Embiid worked the paint for a layup with 22 seconds left for a 117-116 Sixers lead.
Naji Marshall drove hard to the basket and created contact but got no whistle. Embiid was fouled and he made the first of two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to push Philly’s lead to 118-116.
The Mavericks had a chance to tie or win but they couldn’t get a shot off in the final seconds.
The Sixers on the final possessions double-teamed Kyrie Irving, who was sensational with 34 points and nine rebounds, and he found teammates. But the Mavericks couldn’t finish plays.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Daniel Gafford had left the game grasping his left shoulder. Kidd said postgame that “Gaff left there, we got small very fast. He’s hurt. (We’ll know more) tomorrow.”
Embiid, without much resistance after Gafford left, finished with a triple double, 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Earlier at the Mavericks’ shootaround on Tuesday, Christie embraced the move to the Mavericks, even saying it was a privilege to be involved in such a transaction of historic proportions.
“It’s a big shock for anybody having to transition like that,” Christie said. “I’m still processing a lot of things, trying to get my feet underneath me.
“Being a part of a trade like that is also kind of flattering. Obviously, a trade that big on that scale, to be thrown into that, is pretty cool. So I’m looking forward to a new transition and try to win a lot of games.”
One thing that won’t change for Christie is his passion to play on the defensive end of the floor.
He was charged most of this season with guarding the best wing player the Los Angeles Lakers played against. He’ll often find himself in the same role with the Mavericks and he’s already got a prime endorsement working for him.
“Not just myself, but add in Max Christie, who’s great defensively,” said Anthony Davis when asked about the defensive potential of this team. “You got P.J. (Washington), who’s great defensively. Daniel Gafford . . . we have a lot of pieces defensively. They’re already a great defensive team. Adding someone like me just adds value.”
And Christie, too.
“The personnel we have defensively is really elite,” he said. “I think Nico said it, defense wins championships. And so for us – we got a lot of offensive firepower as well – but if we can hang our hat on defense, hold teams to a certain amount of points, then we can do really good in a lot of games.
“Defense is all about effort. Each team has different schemes and different patterns they run on defense so I was learning some of that in shootaround. I just try to bring effort and intensity. That’s all I can ask for going through a transition like this – play as hard as I can.”
Based on early returns, that definitely won’t be a problem.
X: @ESefko
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