The Sixers couldn’t rekindle the magic of their comeback home-opening win over the Cavaliers.
They fell Friday night in NBA Cup action, suffering a 119-95 defeat in Cleveland. The Sixers dipped to 8-2 and the Cavs improved to 5-4.
The Sixers’ top scorers were Jaylen Brown (20 points), VJ Edgecombe (19 points) and Tyrese Maxey (17).
The Cavs got 23 points from Donovan Mitchell and 22 from Evan Mobley.
The Sixers’ injured players included center Adem Bona (cervical spine sprain). Cleveland was down big man Jarrett Allen (right knee contusion). Sam Merrill sat out the second half with a right elbow injury.
With Friday’s loss, the Sixers are 1-1 in Eastern Conference Group B of the NBA Cup. Their next Cup game is scheduled for Nov. 25 against the Heat.
The Sixers will conclude their three-road trip Sunday afternoon against the Bulls. Here are observations on their blowout loss to Cleveland:
Nightmare start for Embiid, Sixers
After a missed Merrill three-pointer, the Sixers steamed ahead on the fast break and Edgecombe opened the scoring with a slam.
The Cavs replied with a 15-0 run kickstarted by six straight Mitchell points. Much like in the Sixers’ Oct. 22 win over Cleveland, they were many levels below their best in the first quarter.
The Sixers began 0 for 4 from three-point range, including two LeBron James misses. The Cavs were also the better team in transition and limited the Sixers’ chances to attack in the open floor by taking excellent care of the ball in the early going. Edgecombe was called for his second foul with 7:34 left in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid expressed his frustration about a couple of early no-calls. Embiid’s larger problem was that he couldn’t hit any sort of shot besides free throws.
He went 0 for 9 from the floor in the game. The seven-time All-Star finished with six points and seven rebounds.
Embiid has had a subpar shooting start to the year, especially from three-point territory — he’s now 3 for 28 (10.7 percent) — but Friday was the kind of extreme night that’s bound to happen here and there over the course of a long season.
Of course, it’s notable that Embiid’s been playing through right foot plantar fasciitis and the Sixers have been keeping a close eye on his minutes. We’ll see how the team manages his availability moving forward and whether Embiid is able to bounce back next time out.
James didn’t play anywhere near his finest game either. He had eight points on 3-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and six turnovers.
As a team, the Sixers were 36.5 percent from the field and 25 percent beyond the arc.
Edgecombe shrugs off foul trouble
Jabari Walker rejoined the Sixers’ rotation as the backup center with Bona sidelined. Anfernee Simons, former Cav Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all remained rotation fixtures.
With Walker and Caldwell-Pope on the court next to three starters, the Sixers cut their deficit to single digits in the second quarter. Walker threw down a fast-break dunk that cut Cleveland’s lead to 48-41. He gave the Sixers some good defensive possessions when switched on to James Harden and provided his usual physical, high-effort work on the glass.
Edgecombe was fantastic in the second, sinking three triples, racking up 15 points and nabbing three steals.
Many second-year players would have a tough time finding a rhythm after encountering early foul trouble, but Edgecombe was great as soon as he checked back in and delivered a ton of valuable buckets in the Sixers’ comeback push.
Cavs polish it off in 2nd half
The Sixers pulled to within 66-63 when Maxey picked a steal and threw a pretty one-handed bounce pass to Edgecombe for a dunk.
With Embiid and James offering little as scorers, Brown hit several shots that helped the Sixers stay in the game. After his 30-point performance last time out against the Pistons, Brown reached the 20-point mark for a third consecutive game.
Still, the Sixers’ offense never got rolling. The Cavs maintained their lead and extended it late in the third quarter. By early in the fourth, the Sixers trailed by over 20 points.
Embiid didn’t play the fourth quarter and logged 25 minutes. He’s had zero made field goals on just one other occasion in his career, back in Nov. 2019 against the Raptors.
Even with their tremendous first nine games, the Sixers knew they’d hit speed bumps throughout the year. They’ll try to get back on track Sunday in Chicago.