The Philadelphia 76ers (46-22) and Cleveland Cavaliers (44-28), who respectively own the third and fourth seeds in the Eastern Conference, squared off at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a tiebreaker on the line. The Sixers shook off a rough performance long enough to beat the Cavs 118-109.
Let's break down the Sixers' sixth straight win.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 36 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 12-19 FG shooting
The NBA's leading scorer had little issue scoring against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA (sans Jarrett Allen, but he usually isn't very good against Embiid, anyway). The Sixers' big man was just unstoppable despite Cleveland giving it a heck of an effort. Embiid had 24 points on 7-10 shooting in the first half, practically keeping them in the game himself until the second half.
Defensively, he was nothing short of menacing. The Cavs were afraid to challenge him at the rim on several drivers and got a few of the shots they tried sent back. Despite coming too close for comfort to fouling out and committing six turnovers, he was sensational.
James Harden: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 8-18 FG shooting
Harden made some plays here and there but failed to get anyone going on offense. He doesn't get any credit for Embiid's efficiency, as he didn't feed the big man many buckets. In the second half, though, he really picked it up and kept the Sixers ahead in the fourth quarter in the few minutes Embiid sat.
Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-13 FG shooting
Maxey's defense on the perimeter was very solid and he scored very well, namely with some deep triples. It wasn't as much of a Maxey takeover as his stats suggest but his 5-7 shooting from deep was huuuuge for Philly.
Cavs player notes:
Donovan Mitchell: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 9-19 FG shooting
The Cavs were on the second night of a back-to-back after playing the Charlotte Hornets yesterday but Mitchell sat out. He was not playing at the superstar level he has established himself against the Sixers, though he did convert a few shots that only stars can make look easy.
Evan Mobley: 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 5-10 FG shooting
Mobley was impactful in just about every facet of the game this one, namely the offensive boards. He anchored the defense while rebounding and generating points on offense while the star guards around him struggled to score efficiently. The numbers aren't eye-popping but he played Embiid as well as any player that skinny could.
Darius Garland: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-17 FG shooting
Two of Garland's most efficient games of the season have come against the Sixers. He wasn't nearly as good in this one but he still drove Philly mad with his quickness and passing smarts.
Game recap:
1st half
Allen sat out with an eye injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Philadelphia native Lamar Stevens. Mobley matched up with Embiid and committed a foul on the first possession as Embiid used his size to get to the hoop. Then, Garland hit Embiid on the arm as he tried to pull up from the elbow. The scoring leader made all four of his freebies.
Meanwhile, Maxey guarded Mobley, picking him up deep into the backcourt, while Tobias Harris guarded Mitchell, P.J. Tucker took Mobley and Embiid roamed off of Isaac Okoro or Stevens — a role he embraces when Doc Rivers goes to it. With a pair of tough buckets, a pair of dimes and a snappy pass into the lane that became a hockey assist on an open corner triple, Mitchell made his presence known early. Philly looked very promising on defense as it rotated well, stayed busy in the passing lanes and forced a five-second violation out of a timeout.
De'Anthony Melton was the first sub of the evening, taking out Harris and guarding Mitchell. As Cleveland subbed out their poor shooters for solid ones, Embiid guarded Mobley. The Cavs went without a field goal for four minutes, struggling to find cracks in the Philly defense. Mobley broke the seal by generating a fast-break bucket for Raul Neto off a steal. The DPOY candidate took advantage of some sloppy play from Philly, which committed seven turnovers in the opening period, to get Cleveland going.
As bench units respectively led by Harden and Garland started the second quarter, Garland's playmaking generated two Cleveland buckets. Georges Niang was subbed out for Harris after the Cavs went at him a few times. The Sixers offense remained out of sync with Embiid on the bench and each side traded buckets as he re-entered. Cleveland scored on three straight possessions while Harris picked up a technical after shouting at a referee. He recorded as many turnovers and fouls as points in the first half with a pair of each.
Philly's offense went into record-scratch mode often as the long, athletic Cavs swarmed to the ball. Embiid overcame the pressure to help the Sixers but getting rushed looks so late in the shot clock definitely had an impact. The Cavs carried momentum into the half after a four-point play gave them a 60-55 lead.
2nd half
The Sixers surrendered the first eight points of the half and immediately allowed a fast-break dunk after their first bucket of the half. The Cavs had been routinely beating them up the court in the first half, bringing more energy and a legitimate sense of urgency, and capped off a fierce opening to the second half with another easy score, leading to a Philly timeout.
After a punch to the face, the Sixers swung back with 14 unanswered points and more energy on defense, forcing Cleveland into tough shots. Embiid broke up a lob attempt to Mitchell, cleaned the boards, had some impressive iso defense sequences against Garland and of course got buckets. MVP-level stuff on both ends of the court as Philly retook the lead.
Harden helped the cause with four points from the mid-range and an assist on a Maxey triple that gave the Sixers the lead. The Cavs went over five minutes without a field goal but Garland caught a little fire to swing the lead back to Cleveland. After some back-and-forth scoring, Niang hit a corner triple to put the Sixers up by one heading into the fourth quarter.
Embiid took a rest to start the fourth and Tucker, rather than Paul Reed (who played in the first half), was the center. As per usual with Tucker-at-center lineups, it was all offense to start the final frame. The Sixers generated three triples but struggled to get a stop. Caris LeVert, who stepped up with 24 points as Mitchell and Garland had poor scoring nights, briefly gave the Cavs the lead on his fifth triple of the night.
Embiid, Mobley and Garland came back into the game with Philly up two with over seven minutes left. Embiid banked in a step-back three to give the Sixers a nine-point lead but picked up his fifth foul with just under five minutes left. Mobley drew the sixth foul on Embiid by taking contact from him in the post. However, a successful challenge from Rivers kept him in the game.
With Embiid unable to provide physical defense, the Sixers needed to score. Maxey made it a six-point game with two minutes left. The Cavs went cold down the stretch and gave up many offensive boards.
Random thoughts:
- My lip-reading is far from perfect but on the replay of Harris' tech, it looked like all he said was, “What are you looking at?” He was certainly intense but in my opinion, that's not tech-worthy.
The Sixers will travel south to face the Hornets on Friday night.
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