CLEVELAND – The 76ers put themselves in a good position.
Their 118-109 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse gave them a 2-1 series edge over the Cavs.
But this one had an interesting finish.
Joel Embiid was called for his sixth foul when he apparently pushed off on Evan Mobley for an offensive foul with four minutes, 12 seconds remaining. However, coach Doc Rivers challenged the call. It was overturned, allowing the Sixers’ biggest star to remain in the game.
Embiid was also awarded the jumper over Mobley to give the Sixers a 110-101 cushion, and the Sixers held onto the victory.
The crowd booed whenever he touched the ball afterwards, though it didn’t appear to bother the center. Embiid even trolled the fans during a break in action. He had a lot to boast about.
The six-time All-Star finished with game highs of 36 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. James Harden added 28 points, a game-high 12 assists and a team-high three steals. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points.
Caris LeVert paced the Cavaliers with 24 points while making 5 of 10 three-pointes off the bench. The Sixers overcame 18 turnovers on this night.
This tiebreaker over Cleveland could come in handy, considering Philly has a tough remaining schedule.
But the fourth-place Cavs were one of the tough opponents the Sixers have already faced. And the tough competition hasn’t hindered their play.
Wednesday’s victory extended the team’s winning streak to six games. Overall, the Sixers have won 15 of their last 18 contests. The squad is also one of the league’s hottest road teams at 20-12. The players have won four straight road games and 10-1 in the last 11, even though the Sixers played the Cavaliers without Jalen McDaniels. The forward bruised his right hip in Sunday’s home victory over the Washington Wizards.
No answer for Embiid
The Cavs were missing standout center Jarrett Allen, who was out with a bruised right eye.
With Allen sidelined, Cleveland second-year power forward Evan Mobley moved to center. The 7-foot, 215-pounder drew the tough assignment of having to guard the 7-2 and listed 280-pound Joel Embiid.
Embiid scored 13 of the Sixers’ first 24 points. He did that by shooting 4-for-4 from the field and by making all four of his free-throw attempts. Embiid also had five rebounds, as Philly led by nine points early on.
The Cavs did a lot of double-teaming, but Embii was still able to have his way. Embiid ended the quarter with 15 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. But if he had a weakness, it was his three costly turnovers.
The Cavs went on to outscore the Sixers, 36-26, in the second quarter to take a 60-55 lead into intermission. The Sixers had no business being that close to Cleveland. They were being outplayed and had 10 fewer shot attempts in the first two quarters.
But Embiid’s play was the reason the score remained close. He produced nine points on 3-for-5 shooting in the quarter, pushing his total up to 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting along with nine rebounds.
Third-quarter runs
The Cavs opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take a commanding 70-57 lead. The Sixers missed their first three shot until finally Maxey sank a jumper. However, the Cavs quickly scored on the ensuing possession, forcing coach Doc Rivers to call a timeout.
Good move.
The Sixers responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to 70-65, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout with 8:04 left in the quarter. But then the Sixers added six more points to extend their run to 14-0 and open up a 71-70 lead. They capped it Maxey’s three-pointer with 5:20 left in the quarter. After the lead seesawed a bit longer, the Sixers went into the fourth quarter with a 84-83 lead.
Turnover woes
The best way to describe the Sixers’ handling of the ball was sloppy. Guys tried to dribble through traffic. Turnover. They swung the ball to an open teammate: Turnover. They rammed into Cleveland defenders on the way to the hoop. Turnover.
The Sixers committed seven mostly unforced turnovers in the first quarter en route to a total of 20.
The Cavs have the third ranked defense and force the fourth most turnovers. As a result, turnovers were expected. But a lot of them came on careless plays by the Sixers.
Up next
The Sixers traveled to Charlotte following the game for Friday’s contest with the Hornets at the Spectrum Center. This will mark the teams’ third and final meeting of the season. The Sixers split their previous two games against the Hornets (22-49). Charlotte defeated an undermanned Sixers squad, 107-101, on Nov. 23 in the Queen City. The Sixers avenged that loss with a 131-113 blowout victory on Dec. 11 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Friday’s game will also be a homecoming for McDaniels. He played in Charlotte for 3 ½ seasons before being traded to the Sixers on Feb. 9.
