Sixers welcome back Noel; proceed to blow out his Mavericks

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 116-74 as Nerlens Noel made his debut to Philly as a Maverick. The Sixers blew a 16 point lead and lost against the Golden State Warriors. This time, they more than doubled that lead. Yes, they led by as much as 43 points. And yes, they held on to win.

Nerlens Noel came into the game with a standing ovation after fans saw a video tribute. Noel made a free throw line jumper and also a hook shot in the paint in the first quarter. He also had a couple of rebounds and an assist. He had a soundly block on Justin Anderson (who was part of the Noel trade).

He had trouble catching the ball. He missed two alley oop attempts that certainly would have been fun to watch and would have brought back some memories.

In the second quarter, there was some sort of game delay with the game clock or something. It was with 8:45 left in the 2^nd. This delay lasted long enough that the Sixers commentators ended up rambling. The broadcast came on with the delay and ended up going to commercial on the delay after a couple of minutes.

With about 8 minutes left, Noel came back into the game. A game minute later, he brings in a dunk. Several minutes later, he had another dunk. By the half, he had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 66.7 percent from the floor. He played 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Sixers’ led for most of the game and led by as much as 43 points in the 4th quarter after leading at the half by 11.

With all of the talk about Nerlens, the guy he was traded for, Justin Anderson, played well and made sure his former team knew what they gave up. He scored 16 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and gave 3 assists. He provided plenty of energy out there as well. After he had a nice dunk, Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, was seen shaking his head in slight disgust. Quite honestly, Anderson became the star for the Sixers, especially since Dario Saric struggled on the floor.

Noel finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.

Good game, Sixers. Noel, you will be missed.