Evan Mobley Says He Had to Play ‘Even Bigger Role’ With Jarrett Allen Out vs. 76ers

Evan Mobley started at center Friday night with Jarrett Allen out, and Joel Embiid did not make a field goal. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-95 at Rocket Arena.

Mobley scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting and hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. He also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block in 32 minutes. Fifteen of his points came before halftime. He was plus-17.

Allen sat with a right knee contusion. He collided knee-to-knee with Jared McCain late in the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss in Oklahoma City, and he had started all eight of Cleveland’s games before Friday.

“I think I got to play an even bigger role,” Mobley said. “Not having my fellow big man out there — he does a lot on the floor. He protects the paint, and then offensively as well. So I got to do a better job of protecting that paint. And I think tonight I did a good job of that, just covering up all the gaps and little nuances that the 76ers run.”

“And I’m just protecting the paint as best as possible, and then offensively just staying in action, setting good screens, and being that big man that applies force to the rim,” Mobley continued. “And I think tonight I had a good balance of that.”

Thomas Bryant played 16 minutes behind Mobley. He scored 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Embiid went 0-of-9 from the field, 0-of-2 from 3-point range, and scored all 6 of his points at the line. He sat out the fourth quarter. Two nights earlier in a 112-106 win at Detroit, he had 26 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.

LeBron James went 3-of-12 for 8 points and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 turnovers. Four of the turnovers came in the first half, and two of them became Donovan Mitchell layups in the game’s first 80 seconds.

Philadelphia went 15-of-28 in the paint. Cleveland finished 25-of-45 there and won the paint 50-30.

Cleveland’s paint defense had slipped over the previous two games for Mobley, both of them losses to Oklahoma City.

“I think we made a big emphasis on protecting the paint, and I think we did a pretty good job this game of doing that,” Mobley explained. “And that was the main focus throughout these past few games, and past one, two games were not the best, but I think this game we locked in and focused on what we needed to focus on. And Joel Embiid was a big point of emphasis, and I think we did a good job on him.”

“And Bron, he’s going to get to his buckets when he gets to them, but he’s also pass-first as well,” Mobley detailed. “So you got to kind of play the middle ground with him and knowing when to go, show help, and when not to. And I think we did a good job with that as well.”

Hours before tip-off, Kendrick Perkins said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that Mitchell and James Harden have to make Mobley the player Cleveland goes through. Perkins set the bar at 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said he does not know where Mobley stands in the national media.

“He’s really playing great basketball,” Atkinson said. “I don’t know where it is in the national media. It seems like every game, he’s — when he hits those threes — we were struggling a little, hits that first three. I just feel like he’s playing great basketball all around, and the [Embiid] matchup, that was obviously a good challenge for him, but he played great tonight. He’s playing great overall.”

Mobley entered Friday averaging 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. Through nine games, he has made 20 of his 39 3-point attempts. He was the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year, the first in franchise history, and made his first All-Star team that season.

When Mitchell draws a double team in the pick-and-roll, Mobley can roll into the space behind it or pop.

“It creates indecision, and you got to give Ev a lot of credit,” Mitchell said. “It’s the right ones too, right? He could obviously say, ‘Oh, I’ve hit two,’ and settle and take a bunch. The same thing with any guard like myself. You could hit a few and be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to continue to shoot and not put any pressure on the rim.’ But then you see his rolls — I’m getting doubled in a pick-and-roll, and now he’s right there for getting into the paint or a lob or whatever. So credit to him for mixing up and doing both.”

“When you have a big like Embiid or whoever you play tomorrow, same thing — creating that indecision with them obviously is huge, and credit him for being able to do both,” Mitchell noted. “And if he does pop and they recover, now he’s playing second-side action, right? It’s just a threat of all different options. He’s expanded his game since I first got here to be able to do that, and then also having the IQ to know when to as well.”

James won a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016 and signed with Philadelphia in July. Dean Wade, who played seven seasons in Cleveland before joining the 76ers, expected an electric atmosphere for James’ return. Wade went 0-of-4 in 21 minutes Friday.

Mitchell said James deserves the cheers he still gets from Cleveland fans.

“At this point, it’s become normal,” Mitchell explained. “You know what I mean? I don’t know how you feel. My first year here, it was like, oh, okay, you see it, and now it’s just — we’re playing the Sixers. To be honest, I also understand that the fan stands are going to be packed, and obviously cheer for him, rightfully so. He’s a champion. He won [a title] from here, right? He deserves all that, and more, for what he’s done for the city.”

“But at this point, I feel like it’s just regular, and we’re just out here trying to compete,” Mitchell added. “If anything, it’s inspiring. It’s like, hey, we want to win a championship here. And so, for us, it’s normal.”

Mobley was drafted third overall out of USC in 2021, three years after James left Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“First few years, it’s definitely like the fans and all the crowd, the energy definitely gets up,” Mobley said. “But I think at this point it’s kind of normal. Been in the league for six years now. I played against him multiple times, and so every time it’s another game at this point.”

The sellout crowd was 19,432. Next for Cleveland is a Saturday home game against the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET.