Cleveland showed love to LeBron James, then the Sixers fell flat in a 119-95 blowout loss
James and Joel Embiid struggling to a combined 3-for-21 from the field and the Sixers' defense and effort was not up to par against the Cavaliers.
CLEVELAND — It didn’t matter that LeBron James chose to come to Philadelphia over Cleveland for the final act of his career. There was still plenty of affection for the 24-year Akron native who brought a championship to his hometown franchise.
The crowd cheered for James during pregame introductions prior to the Sixers’ 119-95 loss to the Cavaliers, before it turned into a night he and the team would rather forget.
James and Joel Embiid struggling to a combined 3-for-21. James was 3-for-12 for just eight points and three assists while Embiid was 0-for-9 with six points coming at the free-throw line.
VJ Edgecombe (19 points) and Jaylen Brown (20 points) kept the Sixers in it for a while before Cleveland pulled away with an 18-6 run to close the third quarter, thwarting a comeback effort that had cut an early deficit to two.
Donovan Mitchell had 23 for the Cavaliers while Evan Mobley had 22. Former Sixers guard James Harden finished with 17 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
Embiid, James can’t buy a bucket
The two Sixers who have sat out multiple games for rest purposes looked in need of another recharge Friday. Neither James nor Embiid had anything going scoring wise. Embiid’s jumper was out of rhythm, and his three-point woes continued with another two misses from beyond the arc.
The basket also appeared to have a lid on it for James, who began the night 2-for-9, with one of those being a missed layup in the third quarter. Embiid played just 25 minutes and didn’t come back in the fourth quarter. He had been on a minutes restriction because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot in Monday’s win over the Bulls but was off the minutes restriction Wednesday against Detroit.
Defense not up to par
The Sixers’ defense has been among the best in the league so far, but too often they allowed easy baskets at the rim, especially early, to Cleveland. The Cavaliers had 18 points in the paint in the first quarter, 48 for the game.
Cleveland shot 22-for-38 at the rim compared to 11-for-16 for the Sixers. The Sixers also couldn’t clean up the offensive glass as effectively as they have been. They allowed 14 offensive rebounds to Cleveland for 14 second-chance points.
Bona sits out, Walker gets some run
Adem Bona missed the game because of an injury he suffered in Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Bona was out because of a cervical spine sprain, according to the injury report. He came into the game as doubtful after exiting in the fourth quarter against the Pistons.
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His absence meant the Sixers had to piece together the backup center minutes behind Embiid. Jabari Walker was the first off the bench in the first quarter after he played two minutes combined in the last two games. That came after a 12-point, six-rebound night for Walker in a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
“He hasn’t done anything really other than play well, which is great to see,” coach Nick Nurse said before the game. “It’s nice to have. I mean, probably deserves to play more, to be honest. So he’ll get a shot tonight.”
Walker finished with eight points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Edgecombe, Brown keep Sixers afloat early
The Sixers had a similar slow start to the one that put them in a big hole in their previous comeback win over the Cavaliers on Oct. 22. They trailed 19-4 as Embiid started the night 0-for-7. The Sixers were out of sorts on both ends of the floor, as their bad offense led to easy buckets at the other end for Cleveland.
The Sixers got back on track after that and stopped the bleeding, thanks to Edgecombe and Brown. Edgecombe was 7-for-9 for 17 points in the first half. That statline included a few easy buckets in transition, but also 3-for-4 from three-point range. Brown also got going from the floor when the Sixers were struggling to generate offense. He was 5-for-8 for 11 points to go with four assists.
The Sixers struggled to defend the rim in the first half, with the Cavaliers scoring 30 points in the paint compared to their 16. The Sixers trailed 62-54 at halftime.
NBA Cup update
The game was the Sixers’ second as part of the league’s in-season tournament, the NBA Cup. They are now 1-1 in Group B, which also features the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. The Sixers previously beat the Knicks as part of Cup play.
Four teams from the Eastern Conference advance to the quarterfinals of the Cup, three group winners plus one wild-card team. The semifinals and finals will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in December.
Inquirer beat reporters Gina Mizell and Chris Hine go behind the scenes of covering LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the Sixers’ star-studded roster, and debate what’s real and not real about the team’s hot start. Watch here.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Sixers Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
