Following a nail-biting matchup with the Denver Nuggets Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers hit the road for a one-game road trip. Next up on the Sixers schedule was a meeting with Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

After pulling away early, the Sixers found themselves in another tight game down the stretch. The Cavs rallied in the second half and managed to make things interesting down the stretch. Despite this valiant effort, Joel Embiid and company still managed to walk away with a 118-114 victory. Here are some grades for the matchup. 

Sixers Grades vs Cavs

Tobias Harris: A- 

Since James Harden's arrival, many have been quick to criticize Tobias Harris. After needing a few games to adjust, he has settled in nicely to his new role. In 39 minutes against Cleveland, he notched 19 points on stellar 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. 

The biggest thing for Harris moving forward is remaining consistent with his three-point attempts. With the attention Embiid and James Harden draw, catch-and-shoot looks from beyond the arc will be there in abundance for him. Harris attempted six threes against the Cavs and connected on three of them. Given how little time is left in the regular season, Harris looks to be hitting his stride at the perfect time. 

Joel Embiid: A+ 

On his 28th birthday, Joel Embiid decided to take the floor Wednesday after being listed as questionable with back soreness. The All-Star center then proceeded to remind everyone why he is a frontrunner for MVP for the second-straight season. 

From the opening tip, Embiid had it going no matter what the Cavs' defense threw at him. He connected on his first six shot attempts and never looked back. When all was said and done, he finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists. 

Outside of his three-point shooting, this was a near masterclass from Embiid. He knocked down 13 of his 19 field goal attempts and shot a stellar 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. Even with an abundance of frontcourt size, there was nothing Cleveland could do to slow him down. 

The bench: F

The Sixers have had their fair share of issues lately, which has allowed some things to fly under the radar. Lack of bench scoring was a catalyst in their downfall against Denver and almost proved to be fatal in Cleveland. 

When the Cavs went on their run in the second half to get back within striking distance, it was against the second unit. Doc Rivers went ten deep with his rotation, and the Sixers only mustered 13 bench points. On the other side, the Cavaliers' bench scored 41 of the team's 114 points. 

 To put it simply, the Sixers need more production from the supporting cast if they truly want to compete. The closest thing they had to a positive off the bench was Danny Green, who tallied six points and two steals in 21 minutes of work.

Georges Niang has been a standout as of late but looks to be heading into a cold spell. The sharpshooting forward shot 2-for-10 from three against the Nuggets and followed that up by going 1-for-4 in Cleveland. 

The Sixers are not going to make it far if they starters break out to a big lead, only for the second unit to come in and cough it up. This was an Achilles heel in previous years and looks to be rearing its ugly head once again.