March 10, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET
CLEVELAND — The Philadelphia 76ers faced a tall challenge on Monday when they paid a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Taking on a very good Cavs team while missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and VJ Edgecombe, the Sixers were unable to get the job done as they fell to the Cavs 115-101 for their second straight loss.
The Sixers were led by Quentin Grimes who had 17 points and five rebounds while Cam Payne added 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Dominick Barlow added eight points, and Justin Edwards added 14 points off the bench while Adem Bona had eight points and seven rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways after the loss:
3-point struggles
It’s going to be paramount for the Sixers to be able to shoot the ball well. That didn’t happen on Monday as they shot 11-for-38 from deep and six of those came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. There was a big stretch in the second quarter when the Cavs were able to get going with a couple of 3-pointers and being able to get out in transition to really extend their lead to 17. The Sixers’ inability to answer Cleveland’s run was a big reason why they couldn’t seriously challenge in this one. Coach Nick Nurse liked the 3s the Sixers were able to generate, but it just wasn’t enough.
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“I’m gonna say yeah,” Nurse said of the 3s the Sixers took. “I’m trying to think, there’s probably one or two end of the shot clockers, ones that were pretty tough, but for the most part, did a good job. And then I thought we had some costly turnovers too, right? Just there was, I think, in that same stretch where they had the offensive rebounds out for 3s, we had, I think, three straight where we broke them down to the rim and tried to dump off inside and got fumbled away one way or another. Either by the guard or the big or their good defense.”
Edwards provides bench scoring
With so many key pieces sidelined, the Sixers were able to give Edwards some extended run in this one for the first time in a while. The second-year forward out of Kentucky scored 14 points, shot 5-for-6 from the floor, and 3-for-4 from deep on the night. When considering how short-handed this group is at the moment, it would probably be good for the Sixers to give Edwards some run and get him the necessary court time he needs to continue developing his game.
“I thought he was good at both ends, you know, solid,” Nurse said of Edwards. “He came in and hit, how many 3s did he hit? Looked like he had a few. Yeah, hit three 3s, which is always good. He’s kind of developed check in and hit a 3, which is really good kind of trait to be able to do that. He makes them in the games pretty quickly. He worked hard defensively as well. What he end up with? 14? That’s pretty good.”
Grimes needing to stay aggressive
The Sixers are now going to need Grimes to give this group much more on the offensive end. While 17 points is good and helpful, he will need to take more than the 13 shots he took on Monday. Philadelphia will lean on Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Payne to carry this offensive attack until the main stars can return. This performance against the Cavaliers is good, but Grimes will have to give this Sixers team even more going forward.
“He was OK,” Nurse said of Grimes. “I mean, I would have liked him to about double that shot attempt for him, like we talked about before the game. Like, he’s got to go and Kelly, for sure. Like, Kelly was, Kelly just had the three quick, well, two quick fouls, and then back in for the third quick one. He just kind of never really got going in the game, and we talked about it before the game. We certainly need those two guys to provide like they did in Atlanta. You know, 20-plus.”