Dirk Nowitzki basically beat the Philadelphia 76ers by himself, and that's only a slight exaggeration. You see, Philadelphia entered the second half with a 51-37 lead over the Dallas Mavericks. All was well and Philly was up comfortably. And then disaster struck.
Eight points in the third quarter was the disaster, and suddenly the lead was gone. Dallas took the advantage into the final frame, where the Sixers scored just 16 points. Add it all up and you've got 24 second half points for the Sixers in an 82-75 loss to the Mavs.
But it gets better! Nowitzki scored just four points in the first half. He finished with 28 points for the game. Another quick bit of math tells us he scored 24 points in the second half. For those keeping track at home, that means Nowitzki scored the same amount of points as the entire 76ers team in the second half.
Lockout basketball is the best, you guys!
For more on the Sixers, head over to Philadelphia 76ers blog Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Phillly. For more on the Mavs, check out Dallas Mavericks blog Mavs Moneyballand SB Nation Dallas.