76ers vs. Cavs instant breakdown: Philly loses down-to-the-wire game

The Philadelphia 76ers (39-35) played the Cleveland Cavaliers (45-29) in their final matchup of the regular season. The Sixers once again played the Cavs super well, fighting in a tough game that went down to the wire. Philly lost 117-114.

Let’s break down the 76ers’ defeat.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 16 points, 2 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 7-26 FG shooting

Maxey once again started off shooting poorly, allowing the Cavs’ defense to dictate the shots he got too much. His playmaking was solid for more reasons than just giving the ball up on blitzes. His shooting began to take a turn for the better in the third quarter, pulling up for what were still not easy shots but ones he proved to be more than capable of making.

Tobias Harris: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 8-17 FG shooting

Harris’ slow-paced shot creation was often something that slowed down the Sixers. But he was making a good amount of his shots and shot the three-ball with great volume. As has shown to be typical with Harris, his great moments don’t always last very long. But he sure had plenty in this game, making it possible for Philly to compete for a win.

Paul Reed: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 blocks, 3-7 FG shooting

Reed did what a lot of bigs have done against this skinny Cavs frontcourt: put your shoulder down and own the paint. He rebounded extremely well on the offensive end and took it right to the hole for close shots and free throws.

Kyle Lowry: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 7-12 FG shooting

Lowry reached 20 points for the first time as a Sixer, shooting the ball with splendid efficiency while still making his typical winning, wise plays. His jumper was on point from deep and on left-side middies, shooting only a single attempt at the rim, though he did also get to the foul line several times.

Cavs player notes:

Donovan Mitchell: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 4-13 FG shooting

Mitchell returned from a six-game absence sporting a black, Batman-esque mask. He set up his teammates really well, flashing an arm infused with baseball talent by throwing some dazzling passes, and struggled to connect on his shots in his first game back.

Georges Niang: 25 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 10-14 FG shooting

The Minivan revved up and drove the Cavs to new heights on the scoreboard time and time again. Only buckets registered on Niangg’s GPS, leaving him with a pure hooper stat line (and one blocked shot).

Game recap:

Joel Embiid accompanied the 76ers on their road trip as his return to the court appears imminent, though it’s still a mystery which specific game he’s targeting for his return. The hospital Sixers have beaten the Cavs twice this season, including at home with Mitchell in the lineup, but they’re still a very solid team even if they’re also the easiest potential matchup for Philly in this year’s playoffs. Now with former Sixer Marcus Morris Sr. on its side, Cleveland was hoping to avoid another upset.

The Cavs had their starting backcourt together as they overcame injuries but were without key bench wing Caris LeVert. The Sixers were without Embiid, Robert Covington and De’Anthony Melton.

1st half

Harris let it fly from deep early and often to begin this game. He was rewarded with two makes, plus a foul on one to complete a four-point play. Other than those makes, Philly couldn’t get a thing going on offense for the first six minutes besides a Lowry shooting foul. Cleveland looked to push the pace, bringing the ball upcourt in a hurry and getting out on fast breaks after live-ball turnovers.

The Sixers operated without a snippet of urgency on offense, throwing lazy passes and not creating any separation on screens. The Cavs weren’t much better but did have the benefit of Mitchell creating takeaways and poking his way through the half-court defense to generate offense. Once he was subbed out, Philly’s defense got some stops. A pair of blocks from Paul Reed highlighted the efforts as the Sixers scored eight straight points as a result of their staunch defense.

Although the Cavs eventually retook the lead, the Sixers’ run prevented a truly sizable deficit. Cam Payne dazzled off the bench with a pair of dishes to Mo Bamba, a set-up for Haris on a middie jumper and a wide, scooping layup around Allen’s arms. Morris assisted another former Sixer, Niang, for a three. Reed overcame Mobley’s rim-protecting prowess, which other Sixers tried and failed to do, with a strong jump stop and patient layup under the basket.

Ricky Council IV got some real minutes in the second quarter after Oubre notched his third foul. He drained a corner three with pristine footwork, a huge sign of his improvements as a shooter. Council also managed to draw a shooting foul on Mobley and pester Mitchell on defense. Cleveland fouls remained a theme as the second quarter came to a close, bailing out a Philly offense that was otherwise being propelled by Harris and…yeah, really just him.

Maxey was seeing aggressive coverages and was always contested on his shot attempts, which usually forced him into tougher ones. He made the passes that got the ball moving but Cleveland rotated well and always made sure Maxey got nothing easy. The lead went back and forth in the waning moments of a bizarre first half where three of the four leading scorers were bench guys.

At halftime, the 76ers trailed 57-55.

2nd half

The two teams traded buckets to usher in the second half. Maxey got a sense of where the Cavs would pressure him and used it to get into the right spaces. Cleveland started to separate itself with eight consecutive points, which featured a rare triple from Mobley. Maxey got a floater off the glass to fall despite the long reach of Mobley as the 76ers, despite a horrid shooting cold stretch from their star, were right in this one.

Maxey assisted Nico Batum on a corner three to retake the lead. Reed’s rugged offensive rebounding helped the Sixers immensely, securing more possessions as Maxey started to see some shots fall. The Cavs couldn’t pull away, allowing Buddy Hield to reclaim the lead again with five quick points, two of which came from one of his four offensive rebounds, which marked a new season-high. The Sixers led 87-85 heading into the fourth quarter. Lowry scored nine points in the period.

The 76ers heard the quick, loud sounds of “Bang! Bang!” as Niang scored eight quick points. Philly got into defensive rotations too quickly, affording the Cleveland sharpshooters far too much space. The Cavs went up by eight, their biggest lead of the game, but couldn’t deliver a knockout blow. Lowry connected with Bamba on a lob — he’s still the only player on the roster who can pull that off — to bring the game back to three points.

The Cavs started testing Bamba’s defense in space, opening a floater from Garland. Maxey connected with Bamba on another lob, perfectly placing a deep pass into his reach after an offensive rebound from Batum, to bring it back to one point. He poked the ball away from Garland and finished a fast-break layup over Mobley to take the lead. And then the Cavs big man swished another open triple, putting the Cavs up by two with 28 seconds left.

Lowry got a step on former teammate Max Strus and dropped a pass off for Bamba, who was fouled. He made just one freebie. Mitchell hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal.

Assorted observations:

• On the broadcast, Alaa Abdelnaby put his own spin on Mitchell’s nickname “Spida” by calling him “Spider” or sometimes “Spider Mitchell” as if the insect was his first name. I kinda dig it.
• No K.J. Martin in this one was an interesting rotation wrinkle from Nick Nurse.

The 76ers will end their brief road trip on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.