What is the story about?
Unable to pull a rabbit out of the hat this time, the Sixers were crushed 119-95 by the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday Night. They are 1-1 in NBA Cup action with a -19 point differential.
Joel Embiid had one of his worst games maybe ever, finishing with six points 0-of-9 from the floor and seven rebounds. LeBron James had his worst outing as a Sixer, putting up eight points shooting 3-of-12 from the field along with seven rebounds, three assists, and six turnovers.
Tyrese Maxey struggled for the second
consecutive game, shooting 5-of-15 from the floor to put up 17 points and four assists. VJ Edgecombe kept the Sixers in as long as he could, going for 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists.
Jaylen Brown was as much help as Edgedcombe had, scoring a team-high 20 points shooting 9-of-19 from the field with five rebounds and five assists. Donovan Mitchell
The Sixers were without Adem Bona while Cleveland was down Jarrett Allen.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Edgecombe opened the game creating a transition dunk with his speed. From there it was all Cavaliers for the first six minutes of the game. LeBron turned the ball over twice, both of which turned into transition baskets. The Sixers started the game 1-of-7 seven from the field — and committed — four turnovers, with only one of those attempts coming in the paint after Edgecombe’s dunk.
- LeBron finally backed his way into the post for a layup that ended a 15-2 run to start the game, but on the other end they were having a hard time containing James Harden’s pick-and-roll. They gave up four offensive rebounds they were lucky only turned into two points.
- After an 0-of-5 start that despite some declarations, did include a three-pointer, Embiid was finally able to draw a foul on Evan Mobley and get to the line. That didn’t do the trick as he missed his next two attempts, both from the paint.
- A pair of threes from Maxey and Anfernee Simons gave the Sixers the faintest hint of a pulse. Simons was able to draw a foul attempting another three, and Maxey got into the paint and get a jumper to go through contact for an and-1. Mitchell had gotten Cleveland’s offense up and running since returning into the game and responded with a couple of baskets. Jabari Walker, the first backup five of the night for the Sixers, grabbed the team’s first offensive rebound of the night, earning a pair of free throws that cut the Cavs’ lead to 11.
Second Quarter
- This quarter also started with good stuff from Edgecombe, nailing a three off the catch and a midrange jumper off the dribble. Brown found KCP for another much needed three, but the Cavs made their first five field goals to start the second to keep extending their lead.
- Brown also found a groove, as he and Edgecombe brought the Sixers back into the game with an 11-2 run fueled by a fury of midrange pull-ups. Walker, who had a solid shift, capped off the run with a good contest on a Harden three that fell short. He ran quickly out of that contest and Brown rewarded him with a full court pass for the layup.
- KCP got called for a reckless closeout on a Harden three that threw cold water on Philly’s momentum momentarily as LeBron got stripped for his fourth turnover of the night on the ensuing possession. Embiid looked pretty bottled up on his next post-up, but he was able to swing it out to Maxey who found Edgecombe for a no-dip three to beat the shot clock. KCP got a whistle back by drawing a transition take foul.
- Embiid was able to get Harden to foul him on a jumper, but he still wasn’t generating shots that looked comfortable. Brown tried to help get him going by feeding him in transition, but Embiid passed it to Maxey who was not expecting the ball, leading to another awkward missed fast break opportunity. The possession was nearly salvaged with an open three for Maxey, but Dean Wade got called for an illegal screen. Harden drilled a patented stepback three to put the Cavs up eight at the half.
Third Quarter
- The Sixers’ offense still looked awkward in their attempts to get Embiid going coming out of the half. LeBron also missed his first two shots of the third, but they put together enough possessions to once again cut the lead to three. Maxey made a layup in transition, drilled a three, and threw a bounce pass down the length of the court to Edgecombe after stripping the ball away from Harden.
- LeBron finally drilled a midrange jumper, but every time the Sixers got within a score, they fell right back down in a hole. Brown turned the ball over in traffic and then the team took a shot clock violation. Embiid threw a behind-the-back pass into way too much traffic and LeBron threw another pass right into a Cavaliers’ chest.
- Embiid’s struggles were really felt on both ends as crasher after crasher was able to grab an offensive rebound over him. It probably should have been more, but the eight second-chance points the Cavs had scored on their 12 offensive rebounds hurt quite a bit. He also missed his 18th straight three-point attempt as the offense looked bottled up.
- Things continued to spiral towards the end of the quarter despite the Sixers shuffling in the bench lineup. Simons had a particularly brutal stretch where his inbound pass got intercepted and he fouled Peyton Watson on the transition layup. Watson missed the free throws, but got his own miss for another offensive rebound and found Mitchell for a three, extending the Cavs’ lead back up to 17.
Fourth Quarter
- It was frustrating to see the Cavs having seven missed free throws three minutes into the fourth. They turned the ball over twice in the opening minutes of the quarter. The Cavs gave them plenty of chances to take the game but they didn’t take them. Offensively they had an ugly start to the quarter missing a barrage of pull-ups off the dribble.
- The best part of every Cup game that becomes a blowout, especially the ones on national television, is the announcers reminding you that it still matters because of the point differential. Despite Stan Van Gundy’s enthusiasm, the Sixers couldn’t do anything to whittle down Cleveland’s lead.
- For as much as the announcers need to promote the rules of the Cup, the Sixers didn’t need to have LeBron, Maxey, and Edgecombe all out there as they continued to fall down more than 20. The tread on the tires, let alone anything happening, is not worth the risk. It’s not like they were really helping the point differential anyway. It would still be garbage time but it would also be another chance to get Labaron Philon Jr. extended minutes.
- Philon would eventually relieve Maxey with four minutes left, and LeBron’s night was done just a few seconds later. Tacko Fall made his Sixers’ debut playing the final 3:21 minutes and was credited with one rebound that probably should have gone to Walker and fouled Thomas Bryant on a three-point attempt.
