PHILADELPHIA -- Everything was going wrong for the Philadelphia 76ers. They were committing some head-scratching turnovers, they couldn't seal defensive possessions with a rebound as the bigger Cleveland Cavaliers went to work on the offensive glass, and had a tough time finding any type of rhythm.
It led to the Cavs building a 29-point lead and the Sixers looked dead in the water as the boos came raining down from the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd.
However, Philadelphia stormed back behind a dominant second half effort to beat the Cavs 114-106. The Sixes outscored Cleveland 69-37 after halftime and committed only two turnovers compared to 14 in the first half which led to the big deficit. Tyrese Maxey described the halftime locker room scene and the message
the team rallied around.
"We were definitely disappointed in our performance," Maxey said after the win. "You know what I'm saying? We disappointed that we turned the ball over. We’re disappointed that we're giving up layups and dunks. I think I said it last game, this is a very competitive group, and my only message that I had I said, ‘It’s time to see what we’re made of.’ Are we gonna be some front runners and dig in, and only be happy when stuff is good or when stuff is bad, we’re gonna fight and be resilient. We did that."
To Maxey's point, the Sixers should be disappointed with the way they played in the first half on Thursday. Obviously, a new group, and all of this is going to take some time to get the chemistry and cohesion down, but Philadelphia can't continue to rely on its talent to rally and win games. This is a veteran group that understands that can't happen.
"I think that there's some veteran guys in there, and the voices at halftime were like, this is still a game," added coach Nick Nurse. "It’s settle down and let's start playing our game and all that kind of stuff. They were pissed and they were down and pissed both. So getting over what just happened, kind of realizing, oh my God, we’ve got to snap out of it, and then getting ready to go to work are two things."
As mentioned, this is a group that has mostly been there, done that. The Sixers just needed a quick breather, figure some things out, and get back at it in the second half. They're too talented for that kind of effort.
"But they've been really good as far as even down the stretch," Nurse added. "What we're running, what's going on, really communicative on some stuff and really understanding like where certain guys need to go and all that kind of stuff."
The Sixers made some halftime adjustments. They moved LeBron James onto Cavs big man Jarrett Allen and Maxey began picking up Cavs star James Harden full court. There were the obvious tactical adjustments, but Philadelphia's heart is what really showed in the home opener. They had to get into the fight and respond to Cleveland.
"A little bit of both," Maxey explained. "A little bit of both. Offensively, we need to get the ball moving a little bit. Our offense was making our defense bad. We was turning the ball over, shooting bad shots. We didn’t have great spacing. That contributed to our defense not being good. Once our defense picked it up a little bit too, and our offense picked it up, we kind of played off of each other that way. So, it definitely was a little bit of X’s and O’s, but it also was 'Alright, they’re out toughing us right now.'"
There were lessons to be taken in this one, but a win is a win. The Sixers are off to a great start. Now, they need to keep building when they play host to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Tyrese Maxey, Sixers describe halftime mood in 29-point rally vs. Cavs
