Sixers takeaways: Rotation changes, Tyrese Maxey’s recent struggles and more from Sixers’ loss to Cavaliers

The 76ers nearly pulled off their first win over the Cavaliers this year, after Wednesday’s blowout loss. But in the final moments, the Sixers just couldn’t close it out.

Here’s what stood out from the 117-115 loss to Cleveland.

After Wednesday’s loss, Nick Nurse changed his strategy entering Friday’s game, electing to match Cleveland’s two-big lineup of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen with his smaller lineup instead of trying to equal their size.

“The choices are, go big and try to match their size or make them match yours,” Nurse said. “For the most part, I think the guys we had in there were the guys we wanted in there.”

Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. both got a lot of run off the bench, while Jabari Walker got just four minutes, and Andre Drummond and Jared McCain didn’t play at all. Grimes scored 14 points with seven rebounds and four assists, and Oubre scored 12 points and grabbed two offensive rebounds.

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Nurse also turned to Trendon Watford for two key stretches in the second and third quarters. Watford scored just four points on two shots, but grabbed two offensive rebounds, and the Sixers were plus-five with him on the floor.

“We had just a little bit of a rough patch in the second with execution and ball handling, and decided to go with him for that,” Nurse said. “I liked them having to play our smaller lineup [more] than I did our bigger lineup.”

McCain, the Sixers’ 2024 first-round pick, has mostly played limited minutes since returning from a meniscus tear and a torn UCL in his thumb. But Friday, McCain had his first DNP since November. Before his season-ending injury last year, McCain was named Rookie of the Month and showed promise, but even with Nurse open to a smaller, guard-heavy lineup, he didn’t factor into the game.

After putting up just 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting in Wednesday’s blowout loss to Cleveland, Tyrese Maxey didn’t fare much better on Friday. Maxey shot 9-for-23 from the field and 2 of 8 from three-point range, ultimately scoring 22 points in the loss.

Maxey said that the back-to-back set’s two games felt a bit like a playoff series, with both teams making adjustments after Wednesday’s “Game 1,” turning Friday into something like a Game 2.

Most of the Sixers’ defensive adjustments worked, especially on Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who shot 4-for-13 from the field after a 35-point game on Wednesday. But Maxey couldn’t find a way to break free offensively.

“They do a good job on all my ball screens, they put a lot of attention on me,” Maxey said. “A lot of times, even when I come off a ball screen with Joel and Jarrett Allen’s guarding him, I’m just stringing them out, he stays on me, and I’m throwing it back to Joel. And then, I missed some good looks tonight.”

Nurse agreed that Maxey wasn’t as accurate as usual, especially from three-point range.

“They got some great size,” Nurse said. “They did a pretty good job of putting two on him a lot. He didn’t get a whole lot, I thought, at the basket.”

But despite Maxey’s struggles, the Sixers were able to keep the game competitive until the final moments, getting the ball to the weak side and giving more opportunity to the Sixers’ other stars, like Joel Embiid, who had a team-high 33 points.

The Sixers focused their game plan heavily around Mitchell on Friday, especially with Cavs guard Darius Garland out with a foot injury he suffered on Wednesday.

Unlike in the previous matchup, they kept Mitchell in check. Jaylon Tyson ended up doing the most damage, scoring 39 points on 13-for-17 shooting, including making 7-of-9 three-point attempts. But despite the ultimate result, the Sixers made progress defensively, Sixers forward Paul George said.

“We held Donovan to a rougher night, Mobley to a rougher night,” George said. “We didn’t predict Tyson would go for 40, but that’s basketball. It was his night tonight ...But when you go into a game and we follow the game plan to make it as tough as possible for Donovan, I thought we executed that.”

That defense also led to more offense. The Sixers had 11 steals, and scored 32 points off of 18 Cavaliers turnovers, with 21 of those points coming in the first half.

But the final, game-losing possession, with Evan Mobley getting the ball from Tyson for an easy dunk in the paint, was an example of where the Sixers still need to grow defensively.

“There’s still steps,” George said. “There’s a long way. I still think we’ve got to get to where we’re not giving up so many layups and baskets at the rim. I thought we did fairly good.”