Sixers hang on to beat Cleveland Cavaliers, 123-121, in impressive, shorthanded victory
With Tobias Harris out, KJ Martin got his first start as a Sixer, and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell gave a blast of life to the home fans inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, with a three-pointer that helped slice what had been a 10-point deficit to one with 14 seconds to play. And when 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey missed his first of two free throws seven seconds later, hope still permeated for the Cavaliers.
But then Paul Reed blocked Mitchell’s driving attempt, and Darius Garland misfired when the loose ball found him open in the corner.
The stretch run was not exactly pretty, Sixers coach Nick Nurse would say minutes after the final buzzer. But the result was perhaps his team’s most impressive victory of the season.
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The still-shorthanded Sixers hung on, 123-121, on Monday night, handing the previously scorching Cavaliers just their second loss since the calendar turned to 2024, generating some positive momentum heading into their final game before the All-Star break.
“We were changing players and changing all kinds of stuff just trying to survive,” Nurse said of the chaotic final minutes. “This is a pretty good one, I don’t know if I would go that far [to say best win of the season], but anything we can pick off right now is, like, really important …
“We found a way to get a couple, so it’s good. Hopefully, we can get one more leading into the break and then get some guys back healthy.”
The Sixers (32-21) built a nine-point lead with less than five minutes to play, when Buddy Hield capped a personal 7-0 spurt with a pull-up three-pointer. Maxey then made the score 115-106 on a tough fadeaway with 3:40 to play, before a Kelly Oubre Jr. three-pointer gave the Sixers their first double-digit lead of the game, at 120-110, with less than two minutes remaining.
But the Cavaliers (35-17) swiftly chipped away, scoring nine consecutive points before Sixers undrafted rookie Ricky Council IV sank a pair of free throws. Mitchell followed with his own pair of foul shots with nine seconds to go, before Maxey went 1-of-2 from the line to set up a frenetic final possession.
Coming in to Monday, these teams were heading in opposite directions. The Cavaliers had won 18 of 19 games and had gotten Garland and Evan Mobley back from lengthy injury absences. The Sixers, meanwhile, had lost eight of their previous 10 games while dealing with a bevy of injuries and illnesses, including knee surgery for reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid.
The Sixers’ health took another hit Monday, when standout forward Tobias Harris was ruled out with hip pain and soreness that prevented him from changing direction during the morning shootaround. So as part of an array of unconventional lineups against the Cavaliers, former end-of-the-bench wing KJ Martin got his first start as a Sixer, reserve center Mo Bamba played through knee soreness, Council got rotation minutes, and newcomers Hield and Cameron Payne continued to learn on the fly.
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They all contributed to a balanced scoring output, with all five starters reaching double figures.
Hield totaled 24 points, including 5-for-8 on three-point range, and added eight assists, while Maxey added 22 points and nine assists. Reed finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while matching up against the Cavaliers’ vaunted frontcourt, while Oubre had 24 on 10-of-14 shooting and Martin finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Payne had 15 points off the bench.
They set the tone with an admirable first half. The Sixers led by nine points multiple times — including when Martin flew in for a putback with less than five minutes to go before intermission — while hovering around 60% shooting. But Cleveland used an 11-0 third-quarter run to take a 78-76 lead on a Jarrett Allen free throw about midway through the period, before the teams went back and forth to set up the tight final frame.
The Sixers will next host the Miami Heat on Wednesday (7 p.m. on NBCSP) in their final game before the All-Star break.