NBA Round up - Doncic, Irving click as Mavs hold off 76ers in shootout

Luka Doncic scored 42 points and Kyrie Irving added 40 as the Dallas Mavericks thwarted the Philadelphia 76ers' late comeback bid Thursday in a wild 133-126 NBA victory.

Offensive fireworks were expected in a game featuring the top two scorers in the league in Doncic and 76ers center Joel Embiid.

But the seamless blend of Doncic and Irving was a revelation after the Mavs had gone 1-4 with the two on court since Irving's arrival via a trade with Brooklyn last month.

The two combined for 18 assists. Doncic made 13 of his 22 attempts from the floor, draining seven of the Mavs' 25 three-pointers.

"Luka was ready for the party, I was ready for the party tonight," Irving said. "It was one of those games where we had some special performances and I'm just glad the work translated, because it could have gone either way."

Irving made six of his eight three-pointers, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Mavericks respond after the Sixers cut a 25-point deficit to four with a 15-0 run to open the final quarter.

The Mavericks had seized control with an explosive third quarter in which they opened on a 20-4 tear and outscored Philadelphia 39-24.

The 76ers' late push, however, recalled Dallas' collapse from a 27-point lead in a loss to the Lakers on Sunday.

"It was a hard-fought game, and we did everything to make sure we were focused down the stretch," Irving said after he and Doncic became the first Dallas teammates to score at least 40 points in the same game.

"I mean, two guys had damn near 100 points on us," said Philadelphia's Tobias Harris. "It was tough with one wizard with the basketball in Luka and now they got two of them out there so it was a tough matchup."

Embiid scored 35 points in his return after sitting out the