A fitting loss to cap off a bad week of Philly sports
The Sixers blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, falling 117-115 in the final seconds to the Cleveland Cavaliers, ending the season series sweep.
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Joel Embiid had a classic Joel Embiid career, leading all Sixers with 33 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor. Tyrese Maxey at least looked better than he did Wednesday, putting up 22 points on 9-of-23 shooting, hitting a game-tying floater but not a potential game-winning field goal.
VJ Edgecombe was also hampered by foul trouble, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Paul George anchored the second unit, with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and five assists.
Jaylon Tyson led all scorers with 39.
Somehow Dominick Barlow was not only available, but he also returned to the starting lineup after dealing with back problems on Wednesday, leaving all Sixers available. The Cavs were down Darius Garland, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill and Max Strus.
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Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.
First quarter
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Another game that started with a quick attack as the teams combined to make their first 11 of 14 field goal attempts. Embiid was tipped by Evan Mobley to open the game’s scoring, but then settled into his own lane with a nail at the other end. The Sixers were the first team to make an impact on the defensive end of the floor. Dominick Barlow looked largely untroubled, blocking a shot and ripping the ball away from Donovan Mitchell on two early plays and Maxey also got away.
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That aggression, and miscommunication, got the Sixers in trouble. Many times early on the two Sixers would go after the same Cavalier, leaving the other open, but they were encountering little opposition on the other side. Embiid and Maxey were often doing their own thing and looked good throughout, including a nice one-handed layup by Maxey after Embiid’s pass led him to the right spot.
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Embiid wouldn’t always be the most efficient on the court but he continued to control things, getting a few trips to the line to finish the quarter with 13 points. The offense didn’t miss him when he came out, losing points after burying a three at the 3:13 mark. Cleveland buried a couple of layups in the final minute to tie the game at 31 after one.
The second quarter
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Maxey went down but as George and Edgecombe recovered it and gave the offense some structure – this one found a good way to cut the forward. The Sixers also had their best stretch of basket protection so far, thanks in large part to two blocks from Adem Bona.
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Thanks to seven steals in the first while giving up just one, the Sixers were very good in the turnover battle. Just after extending their lead to double digits, two turnovers gave that momentum back to Cleveland. Edgecombe was easily stripped of the ball while Kelly Oubre Jr. throwing a pass that was very easy to pick off. Those were big reasons for the 8-0 run the Cavs came off, but Craig Porter Jr.
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Maxey was able to get three open goals off a catch as well as a steal and a hit, but this was another half where he struggled to create. The length Cleveland was throwing to him may have worried him, but he seemed to struggle with the ball. The Cavs were able to overload him when Edgecombe had to sit out at the end of the half with foul trouble. Quentin Grimes replaced him and looked awful missing his first three shots of the night, but buried two of three to give the Sixers a seven-point lead at the half.
Third quarter
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Both Embiid and Tyson started the second half with the same rhythm they started the game with. While Embiid continues to enjoy open midranges on pick-and-pops, something just seems off about his two-man matchup with Maxey. For example, he threw a pass between the legs early and dropped it into Jarrett Allen’s lap.
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A solid take with his left hand was just the kind of basket Maxey needed, though that didn’t get him going by any means. Another stupid mistake, this time Oubre needlessly fouling Nae’Qwan Tomlin for a dunk again, gave the Cavs the momentum to cut the lead and the Sixers threatened to push double digits.
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Oubre did his best to make up for that — he recovered Embiid’s miss, made himself a fast break by running after a miss, and knocked down a three. The Cavs took advantage of another opportunity to get out in a smooth fashion, but Maxey answered with a three to beat the shot clock and take the lead in the seventh as the third expired.
The fourth quarter
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Sitting for a good chunk of the game in foul trouble, Edgecombe had not scored since going 3-of-3 to start the night. As expected, he opened the floor for the Sixers in the fourth, matching Mitchell’s three and one of his own. His running mate on the second unit helped him take the lead as George knocked down a few jumpers.
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The Sixers offense cooled enough after that for the Cavs to go on a 10-0 run to tie the game. It wasn’t caused either. They pushed something for Maxey to get wide open in the corner and he missed, Grimes dribbled to his man to get wide open but he just smoked it. The Sixers responded with a 7-0 run, and it was they who made the most of the mistakes. Tyson fumbled an inbounds pass after another Maxey fast break, and Mobley went out of bounds trying to drive to the corner on the next possession.
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Once again, the Sixers ran a bad offense down the stretch, and it cost them again. The first was a play that took a long time to develop after Maxey was doubled, Embiid didn’t hear the defenders coming as the slow lob came to him and was stolen. Maxey wasn’t going anywhere when his runner was blocked by Mobley. Embiid tried to post up Allen, got stoned and threw an airball. Cleveland rallied with another Tyson three to give them one point with less than two minutes to go.
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Maxey had plenty of room on his next drive and was fumbled, taking the lead again at the line. They forced a punt on the next field goal, but a turnover on an open Oubre led to a missed three and De’Andre Hunter put Cleveland ahead. George was able to move his defender but his turnaround jumper in the paint was not good.
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George and Oubre both played tough defense on Mobley who also missed, but Oubre got enough of an arm to get whistled for foul play – the challenge couldn’t be over. Mobley split his pair, giving the Sixers a chance to tie or take the lead with 22.2 left. Maxey and Embiid spent most of that time exchanging the ball, giving Maxey a run to tie the game with a floater with 8.1 seconds left. Cleveland went to their hot hand, Tyson got the ball on the baseline, spun, beat his defender, and pulled the assist to get Mobley an open dunk with four seconds left. Now later the Sixers can only get up half the court that did not fall.
