76ers rally from 29-point deficit for biggest comeback of LeBron James’ career to win home opener over Cavs, 114-106

The new-look Philadelphia 76ers staged a thrilling comeback for the home crowd in their regular-season home opener. Trailing by 29 points in the first half, the Sixers rode a second-half surge for a 38-point swing and an eventual 114-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

The comeback was the biggest of LeBron James’ 24-year NBA career, making his home debut a memorable one. Previously, he was 0-52 when behind by 29 points or more.

Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points with six assists, followed by 24 points and seven rebounds from Joel Embiid to lead Philadelphia. Jaylen Brown added 21 points with eight boards, while James added 17 points with 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Advertisement

Teams that had a lead of 20+points at halftime were 65-0 in their season openers since the shot-clock era began in 1954-55, according to ESPN. The Cavaliers had a 155-0 record with a 29-point lead, while the 76ers were 0-156 facing such a deficit.

Overall, NBA teams had won 466 consecutive games with that kind of lead during the regular season, the Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds reported.

Philadelphia took its first lead of the game at 96-95 five minutes into the fourth quarter on seven straight points by Embiid. Brown followed with a long fadeaway jumper, a driving layup between two defenders and a midrange shot to put Philadelphia ahead by seven points.

The Sixers came out strong to begin the third quarter, scoring 11 points in the opening 90 seconds to cut the Cavs’ lead to 13 points. Donovan Mitchell got two baskets to slow Philadelphia down, but that was temporary as Philadelphia kept up a quicker pace.

Advertisement

A fast-break layup and 3-pointer from Maxey made it an 80-73 Cavs lead at the five-minute mark of the quarter. That got the crowd back on the home team’s side, chanting “trust the process” as the deficit was reduced to five points.

Perhaps the most important point of the game for Philadelphia was a two-minute stretch late in the third quarter when head coach Nick Nurse gave Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid a rest. The Cavs weren’t able to capitalize, but did manage to push their lead back up to 90-82 when…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/76ers-rally-from-29-point-deficit-for-biggest-comeback-of-lebron-james-career-to-win-home-opener-over-cavs-114-106-024439314.html

Author : Ian Casselberry

Publish date : 2026-10-23 01:58:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.