Observations after Sixers get blown out by Cavs to kick off homestand

Observations after Sixers get blown out by Cavs to kick off homestand originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers certainly did not begin their six-game homestand with their finest performance Wednesday night.

Advertisement

They fell to a 133-107 loss to the Cavs at Xfinity Mobile Arena, dropping to 22-17 on the season. Cleveland moved to 23-19.

Joel Embiid’s 20 points topped the Sixers. Paul George added 17.

Cavs star Donovan Mitchell tallied 35 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Darius Garland had 20 points and seven assists. Evan Mobley posted 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks.

The Sixers remained at full strength to begin the evening. Cleveland was down Dean Wade (left knee contusion) and Max Strus (left foot fracture surgery).

The Cavs and Sixers will play the second game of their mini-series Friday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations on the Sixers’ blowout loss Wednesday:

Advertisement

Cavs surge ahead early

Garland swished a three-pointer for the game’s first basket and Cleveland made its first four field goals.

While the Sixers kept pace for a while and went up 10-9 on an Embiid top-of-the-key three, the Cavs pushed in front with a 10-0 run.

The Sixers were inferior early in both the turnover and rebounding departments. They conceded 11 second-chance points in a little over six minutes. As a team, the Sixers were often unable to match the Cavs’ physicality, track the ball and close out possessions.

Embiid slammed the ball down in frustration after being whistled for traveling on the perimeter. That turnover was Embiid’s fourth and the Sixers’ sixth. At that stage, the Cavs still had zero giveaways.

Advertisement

Small role for McCain

Embiid did reach 13,000 career points in the first quarter.

He watched from the sidelines early in the second as George took command of the Sixers’ offense. Though George drained two threes early in the second quarter, the Sixers still trailed by 14 points when Embiid subbed back in.

Searching for anything effective, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse tried out many of his bench options in the first half. Jared McCain was the 11th…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/observations-sixers-blown-cavs-kick-213107594.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-01-14 21:31:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.