The Philadelphia 76ers won’t have to wait long for a chance to exact revenge on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Two days after the Cavaliers pummeled the Sixers, the teams will reconvene Friday for the second part of their two-game series in Philadelphia.
Cleveland dominated Wednesday’s contest 133-107 behind Donovan Mitchell’s 35 points and nine assists. He made five 3-pointers, giving him 13 makes from beyond the arc over the last three games.
Evan Mobley contributed 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks in a splendid all-around effort. De’Andre Hunter added 17 points, as well.
“It wasn’t just a win, but how we played,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “(We had) 41 assists on 50 made baskets, I think. That’s Cavs basketball, the way we moved it.”
It certainly was a contrast to Cleveland’s previous game — an 11-point home loss to a struggling Utah Jazz team that had lost by 55 points in its previous contest.
“We needed to respond,” Atkinson said. “That was a tough loss against Utah, and this shows the character of our team.”
One negative for Cleveland on Wednesday was Darius Garland’s early exit due to a foot injury. He had 20 points and seven assists before leaving the game.
Garland was ruled out for Friday with what the team dubbed great toe soreness.
“He was hooping,” Mitchell said of Garland. “He was getting downhill. Creating, setting the tone. Obviously, there’s concern, always, right? That’s my brother. But in the same token, it’s like, all right, let’s keep moving.”
The Cavaliers, who have alternated wins and losses in their last seven games, will search for a bit of consistency against a Sixers squad that is trying to pick up the pieces from Wednesday’s defeat.
Philadelphia got outscored 33-18 in the first quarter Wednesday and never truly recovered. Tyrese Maxey scored 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting in one of his worst games of the season, while backcourt mate VJ Edgecombe wasn’t any better, scoring nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
“Well, obviously, they had a lot more energy than we did, for whatever reason,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “Just every facet of the game, they took it to us.”
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 20 points, but he grabbed only four rebounds in 25 minutes and also committed half of his team’s 12 turnovers.
“Obviously, I turned the ball over a few times, and then we just weren’t locked in from the start,” Embiid said. “But yeah, obviously I had, like, five turnovers in that first quarter. So yeah, that’s on me.”
It was a humbling performance for the Sixers, who had won six of their previous eight games. Philadelphia still has five contests remaining on its six-game home stand, although the team enters Wednesday’s contest with a mediocre 10-10 record in South Philly.
“We’re going to definitely need to get better at home,” Nurse said.
Cleveland has won five of the last six meetings between the teams, including both matchups this season.
