The Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Cleveland for a contest against the Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back, looking to bounce back after their second loss of the season. Their loss occurred after allowing the Chicago Bulls to come back from a 20-point deficit, largely due to a putrid fourth-quarter offensive performance.
Their game Wednesday night would be without Joel Embiid and Jared McCain with knee management, Paul George, who has yet to make his season debut, and Dominick Barlow. Meanwhile, the Cavs welcomed back point guard Darius Garland.
The game started as expected on the second night of a back-to-back after a bad loss. The Cavs jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the first time out, taking advantage of turnovers, sloppy play, and second-chance opportunities. Early on, Philly’s shots were hitting the front rim, indicating they were playing with tired legs. The Cavs continued to shoot the lights out, while the Sixers' offense struggled. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley combined for 27 points in the first quarter, which matched the Sixers as a team.
The second quarter saw the Sixers go to the bench and put up a fight, instead of lying down early in the contest. After low energy in the first quarter, the Sixers needed a spark from the bench, and they got it from Andre Drummond and Trendon Watford. Wadford tallied 14 first-half points to go along with four assists, while Drummond had 10 points and nine rebounds. Their play helped give Tyrese Maxey a much-needed rest on the bench, and once he returned to the game about halfway through the second quarter, he lit up the scoreboard. Maxey scored 14 of his 18 first-half points in the second quarter and cut the lead to three at halftime.
The second half began, and the Sixers were able to tie the game at 72 within the first couple of minutes, but their sloppy play, which had plagued them in the first quarter, resurfaced. The Cavs went on a run and pushed their lead back up to 20 points, outscoring the Sixers 37-20 in the third quarter.
Donovan Mitchell was a driving force for the Cavs in the third and fourth quarters to pull away from the Sixers, and he was just dominant and efficient all night. Mitchell scored a season high of 46 points and hit six three-point shots. Cleveland handed the Sixers their second loss in a row and ended their road trip 1-2.
The Sixers return home for a Saturday night contest against the Toronto Raptors on the first night of another back-to-back contest, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. EST.
