There was an MVP sighting Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

Like the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki had been playing lukewarm basketball in the season's first two weeks. Then came the second half against Philadelphia, when the Mavericks and their leader clicked on all cylinders, proving they haven't forgotten how that looks and feels.

They started the second half with a 41-20 binge and pulled away for a 99-84 victory over the 76ers. Nowitzki, with plenty of help from Devin Harris, Jason Terry and Josh Howard, put his stamp on the second half as the Mavericks overcame a seven-point halftime deficit.

"He did what he was supposed to do," coach Avery Johnson said. "Boy, he was amazing. Like I've been saying all along, Dirk's a stud. He draws a lot of attention, and the more we can get him to make those passes, and the more we can finish ..."

He didn't have to finish the sentence. The way the Sixers wilted under Nowitzki's onslaught spoke volumes. Nowitzki finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a career high-tying eight assists. When the Sixers crowded him on the perimeter, Nowitzki lowered his head and powered to the rim. When the defense drifted to other Mavericks, he sank some mid- range shots and basically looked like a superstar is supposed to look.

It hasn't been that way most of the season. Through the first six games, Nowitzki was shooting 43.8 percent and just 27.8 percent from 3-point range.

"This team is so good, we don't have to force shots," Nowitzki said. "If somebody's double-teamed, we can always move it. Everytime we take a bad shot, it's a lost possession for us.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard races past Philadelphia's Jason Smith.

"I haven't really shot the ball well. I just couldn't find my rhythm in games lately. [But] besides the Portland game, when we were awful shooting-wise, everybody's been making shots. Jet's been coming off the bench on fire."

Nowitzki's breakout keyed what was, without question, the best half the Mavericks have played in the young season. They improved to 5-2 by spreading the wealth. Besides Nowitzki, Terry had 25 points, 21 of them coming after halftime, which got him back into Johnson's good graces.

"He passed up three shots in the first half," the coach said, "and I had to remind him that he was the microwave, not the toaster."

The Mavericks have played down to the competition so far this season, and they did so again in the first half. They shot poorly, with the exception of Howard. And the Sixers were exposing all the creases in the Mavericks' defense, as they were up 50-43 at the break.

But the Mavericks served notice quickly that the second half would be different. They scored 16 of the first 18 points after halftime to move ahead 59-52 and never sweated after that.

"It was a good half and something to build on," Nowitzki said. "But the first half we didn't do much."

That allowed Johnson the opportunity to give his team a stern talking-to at halftime, which clearly helped.

The game also featured Erick Dampier's first action of the season. He responded with seven points and seven rebounds in less than 13 minutes of action.

It didn't take long for him to have an impact. He had a strong dunk and an offensive rebound in his first few possessions.

Meanwhile, Jerry Stackhouse was having a solid night at the defensive end of the court.

"Stackhouse had his best game defensively since he's been with us," Johnson said, a strong statement considering that spans three-plus seasons. "He's been making a concerted effort to play better defense, especially on the ball."