A tired 76ers team playing the second game of a back-to-back ran out of juice in Cleveland and dropped to 5-3 on the season. Donovan Mitchell had a whopping 46 points while Maxey and Grimes led Philadelphia with 27 points each.
After a heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers looked ahead to Cleveland on their second night of a back-to-back and their third game in four days. Joel Embiid and Jared McCain were both out due to load management, leaving the team shorthanded against a 3-4 Cavaliers team.
Cleveland sported their throwback uniforms and court for the first time this season and they also welcomed Darius Garland to the court for his first action of 2025. The 2024 number one seed in the Eastern Conference stood as an early season test for the 76ers.
The Cavs started the game on fire as they jumped out to a 25-10 lead, fueled by Evan Mobley hitting two triples. Cleveland turned defense into offense and capitalized on the 76ers' six first-quarter turnovers. The Sixers' offense finally started to find a groove to end the quarter by attacking the paint and getting to the free-throw line.
Their defense however could not keep up with the Cleveland scoring barrage, as they trailed 41-27 after the first. Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell had 27 combined first quarter points, while the Sixers were led by Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. with six points each.
Philadelphia finally caught fire in the second quarter as they outscored Cleveland 40-29. Tyrese Maxey made his presence known with 14 points in the quarter on 5/7 from the field. After only hitting one three-pointer in the first quarter, the Sixers knocked down five in the second quarter, which helped their offense settle in.
Trendon Watford was the unlikely hero in the quarter as he scored 13 points on an efficient 4/6 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds. He provided the scoring punch needed to make up for the cold Oubre Jr. and Edgecombe, who shot a combined 4/16 from the field in the half.
The Sixers' defense forced Cleveland to settle for outside shots as 29 of their 51 attempted shots in the half were three-pointers. Despite the Philadelphia comeback, Cleveland still had the lead at half, with a score of 70-67.
Early in the third quarter, Kelly Oubre Jr. cashed in a triple to tie the game at 72, and it was the first tie since it was 2-2 in the first quarter. That didn't stop the dreaded third-quarter struggles from hitting, however, as the Cavs went on a 13-point run after that. Their run was eventually ended and followed up by a rare Andre Drummond triple.
Turnovers and bad shots plagued Philadelphia's third quarter as Cleveland slowly started building on their lead. Cleveland's offense caught fire once again as they ended the quarter on a 13-5 run and eclipsed the 100-point mark. Philadelphia trailed 107-87 with just 15 minutes to play.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the fourth quarter did not go as planned. Cleveland opened the quarter firing on all cylinders and jumping to a 23-point lead. They just could not miss. Meanwhile, the Sixers' offense went cold until garbage time, where they managed to make the final score look less like a blowout. In the end, Cleveland won 132-121.
Maxey and Grimes led the 76ers in scoring with 27 points each. Maxey shot 50% from the field while Grimes shot 9/15 but only 1/5 from beyond the arc. Kelly Oubre Jr. continued his strong play with a 19-point performance, and Trendon Watford had his best game as a Sixer, dropping 16 points and dishing out six assists.
Star rookie VJ Edgecombe went cold, only posting seven points on 3/14 shooting. The Sixers' defense had no answer for Donovan Mitchell as he torched them for 46 points on a very efficient 15/21 from the field.
Philadelphia's third-quarter struggles continue to jump off the page, as they scored a measly 20 points and lost the quarter by 17. Turnovers and free-throw shooting were also big difference makers that went in Cleveland's favor.
The bright spot is that Philadelphia won the rebounding battle against Mobley and Allen, which should give fans at least some positive to take away from the loss. Next up for the Sixers will be a home matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, November 8th.