The Philadelphia 76ers faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night in South Philly. The Sixers, who entered the night 12 games under the .500 mark and losers of seven straight games, looked to try to stay alive and close to the play-in race. They were without Joel Embiid again and a host of other players, fighting the constant injury bug.
The Cavs, who come into this game with a record of 36-7, the best record in the NBA and dominating almost every night. Their last game was a one point loss to the Houston Rockets, where they could have won, if Darius Garland doesn’t miss two of out three free throws late in that game. They came into the game missing a few players including Evan Mobley, Issac Okoro,and Caris LeVert.
When the schedule dropped, a game that would have been expected to be a clash of two Eastern Conference titans turned into a contest between teams seemingly going in opposite directions in the standings.
Game recap
The first quarter was filled with really good shotmaking by both teams. Early on, Tyrese Maxey hit some really difficult shots to help keep pace with the Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs. Maxey tried to take advantage of every mismatch he had to either create for himself or his teammates.
The Cavs’ offensive firepower came from Sam Merrill, who scored nine points in two possessions toward the end of the quarter. The end of the quarter went well for the Sixers, who led 39-33 after the first quarter, partly due to their hot three-point shooting.
In the second quarter, Tyrese Maxey started on the bench, and the offense, which was humming while he was on the court, came to a halt. Paul George struggled to start offensively, which allowed the Cavs to come back and even the score.
With George struggling while his fellow star rested, Eric Gordon, Justin Edwards, and Guerschon Yabusele helped keep the offense together. Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell got hot, too, scoring 16 in the first half. The Cavs outscored the Sixers by nine in the second quarter to take a 67-64 lead into the half.
The third quarter started with the Cavs continuing their hot shooting while Philly started to miss their outside shots. The three-pointers they were hitting early weren’t falling in the first couple of minutes to allow the Cavs to add to their halftime lead.
After an early timeout from Nick Nurse, the Sixers went on a nice run with superb shot-making from Paul George, who scored 14 points in the quarter. The Sixers switched their defense up depending on a make or a miss, which included 2-3 zone and man defense. It helped them grab the lead back with a combination of their outside shots starting to fall again.
What an offensive display was in the fourth quarter by both teams; it felt like no one could miss. Ty Jerome, who had 8 three-pointers off the bench, seemed to make the Sixers pay anytime they forgot him or didn’t step up on a screen. The Sixers kept fighting and started to make the Cavs pay on every over-help, knocking down shot after shot. The Sixers built an eight-point lead late, but Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome stormed back to make this one a nail better.
In the end, they had just enough to get a 132-129 win against the East’s number-one seed. The Sixers got good performances from Paul George, with 30 points and five rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey, who had 29 points and seven assists. The Cavs were paced by Donovan Mitchell, who put up 37 points and seven assists, and Ty Jerome, who went off for a career-high 33 points.
Shots finally fell
Both teams were shooting the lights out in South Philly, but the Sixers needed a night like this. Philadelphia had lost seven straight games and shooting around 34% from three over their last three games. In this matchup, they hit 21 three-pointers and knocked them down at a 54% clip.
The Sixers had plenty of good shots as they passed the ball early and often, especially when driving closeouts to get others open. They obviously won’t shoot that well every night, but Philadelphia could build off of their offensive performance these last two games to help them while the big fella recovers.
Role players like Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre, Guerschon Yabusele, and Justin Edwards continued to knock down open shots thanks to the Sixers’ work as a team, as they moved the ball around to find them.
Continuing to standout
Undrafted rookie Justin Edwards continues to impress with each opportunity. He scored 15 points in this matchup and had some really good offensive sequences. When Kelly Oubre Jr. fouled out with just over two minutes to go, Nick Nurse called on Edwards to help finish the game. He’s building trust with his coaching staff and teammates as each game passes.
Nick Nurse had some praise for his rookie after the game.
“He just seems to be in the right place in the offense,” Nurse said. “The ball finds him and he vaults up and shoots it. He’s not playing like an undrafted rookie, he’s playing really well”.
It’s had to envision Edwards being taken out of the lineup even after the Sixers see players return from injury.
