PHILADELPHIA — Confetti unexpectedly began trickling out of the Wells Fargo Center rafters during the third quarter of Wednesday’s matchup between the 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Perhaps its premature release symbolized the state of the venue’s professional basketball team. On their final night before the All-Star break, the Sixers unleashed a dominant first half but needed to hold off the Cavaliers’ furious second-half charge to secure a 118-112 victory.
It was an enticing clash of teams that entered Wednesday separated by one game in the Eastern Conference standings, but quickly descended into a blowout before the Cavaliers’ rally created a much dicier than anticipated finish for the Sixers. Nevertheless, the Sixers (38-19) enter the break as winners of six of their last eight games and in third place in the conference, while the loss snapped the Cavaliers’ seven-game winning streak.
