NBA

A look back after the Sixers were beaten by the Cavs to start the homestand

ballervisions 2026年1月15日

A look at the aftermath of the Cavs getting blown out by six to start over appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Sixers didn’t start their six-game homestand the best on Wednesday night.

They lost 133-107 to the Cavs at Xfinity Mobile Arena, dropping to 22-17 on the season. Cleveland went up 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 remain full of energy to start 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 miniseries on Friday night in Philadelphia. Here are the highlights of the Sixers’ blowout loss on Wednesday:

The Cavs moved on

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

When the Sixers went on a short run and went up 10-9 on Embiid at the top of the third, the Cavs pushed ahead 10-0.

The Sixers were down early in both the turnover and rebounding departments. They gave up 11 points for the second time in just over six minutes. As a team, the Sixers often couldn’t match the Cavs’ physicality, ball tracking and possession.

Embiid slammed the ball down in frustration after being whistled for going on the perimeter. That outing is Embiid’s fourth and sixth in six. At that stage, the Cavs had zero giveaways.

McCain’s small role

Embiid reached 13,000 career points in the first quarter.

He watched from the sideline early in the second as George took command of the Sixers’ offense. Despite George hitting two threes early in the second quarter, the Sixers still trailed by 14 points when Embiid returned.

Looking for anything to work out, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse tried many of his bench options in the first half. Jared McCain was the 11th Sixer to see action, checking in at the 6:16 mark of the second half.

McCain played just three minutes in the second quarter and missed a baseline jumper on his only shot attempt. His next drive started midway through the fourth quarter when the Sixers were down 25 points. Despite playing in 27 consecutive games, the second-year guard’s minutes have been down lately. The 21-year-old had four consecutive games under 10 minutes.

It is a difficult situation for the nurse and the team to handle. The Sixers want McCain to slowly get back into rhythm and confidence after coming back from thumb and knee injuries. They also want to increase their chances of winning games and McCain played well below the level he showed as an impressive rookie.

There are pros and cons to whichever approach the Sixers choose here. Playing McCain a few minutes per game doesn’t seem like a good long-term solution.

The Sixers’ momentum is short-lived

The game was stopped early in the third quarter when Dominick Barlow fell hard on his back after Mobley blocked his layup.

Barlow sat down for a few minutes and was helped by his teammates on the field. He was officially ruled out with a back strain late in the third quarter.

When action resumed, the Cavs extended their lead. Darius Garland’s layup gave Cleveland a 75-53 advantage, Nurse called a timeout and the home crowd roared.

The Sixers responded with a 10-0 run.

Jabari Walker provided a great hustle. Embiid dove into the stands in pursuit of a long layup. Later, Walker’s second steal led to a Tyrese Maxey layup that cut the Sixers’ deficit to 79-68.

Cleveland was soon back in control. The Sixers’ comeback hopes were not helped by the fact that both members of their starting lineup had ineffective games. Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 23 points on 8-of-26 shooting.