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The 44-27 Cleveland Cavaliers played their second of two straight games, this time against the 45-22 Philadelphia 76ers. They could not win both though, losing 118-109.
The Cavs were without Jarrett Allen for a third straight game and Ricky Rubio, who has scored over 10 in his last two games.
Philly won the tipoff and the Cavs showed that fouls would be a common theme early. They had three fouls in the first two and a half minutes.
Joel Embiid showed why he is an MVP candidate, scoring 15 points in the first while only missing one shot. Tyrese Maxey showed his range, hitting two 3s and scoring 8 points.
The thing keeping Cleveland in the game was Philly’s turnovers. The Cavs forced 7, including 2 steals from Donovan Mitchell. He also scored 7 points. Raul Neto had a contribution as well. After not seeing a lot of action over previous games, he scored 4 quick points to help spark some Cleveland offense.
Cleveland trailed 29-24 at the end of the first.
Cleveland finally got their first lead of the game three minutes into the second. Darius Garland hit a free throw after a 3-second violation to give them a 32-31 lead.
Tensions rose in the second quarter. Both Tobias Harris and Caris LeVert got techs arguing with the refs.
The biggest impact for Cleveland in the quarter was LeVert. He had 14 points, including a big 4-point play to end the half.
Embiid continued to dominate for Philly. He scored 24 in the first half and grabbed 9 rebounds. James Harden also made shots to give him 11 by the half.
Cleveland was up 60-55 at the half.
Less than two minutes into the second half the Cavs took a 13-point lead.
The lead didn’t last long though. With five minutes left in the quarter Philly took a 71-70 lead, going on a 14-0 run.
Cleveland went on a 7-0 run shortly after, as they retook a quick lead near the end of the quarter, before Georges Niang hit a buzzer beater to give Philly an 84-83 lead.
Garland had a big quarter, scoring 9 points to give him 15 by the end of the third. The Cavs also continued to force Philly into mistakes. Philly had 16 turnovers by the end of the third.
While Embiid had bad moments in the third, Maxey made up for them. He was up to 20 points by the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was tight. LeVert continued to be a huge factor for the Cavs. He was feeling it and looked aggressive in his shot selection. The 76ers were relying on Harden, who was able to hit contested shots with ease.
With four minutes left in the game, Embiid looked to have fouled out of the game, but the call was overturned.
The boos towards the refs and Embiid echoed throughout the stadium. Unfortunately it was not enough for the Cavs. They could not get shots to fall late. The 76ers would end up winning 118-109.
The players of the game for Cleveland were Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert. Mitchell had 21 with 3 steals while LeVert scored 24 off the bench.
The stars for Philly were Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and James Harden. Embiid had 36 with 18 rebounds, Harden had 28 with 12 assists, and Maxey had 23.
Cleveland will next play against the 32-37 Washington Wizards on Friday.
Philly will take on the 22-49 Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
