Joel Embiid and James Harden propel Sixers to tiebreaker over Cleveland Cavaliers with 118-109 win

CLEVELAND — The 76ers have put themselves in a good position.

Their 118-109 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse gave them a 2-1 series edge over the Cavs. This tiebreaker over Cleveland could come in handy, considering the Sixers’ tough remaining schedule.

The Eastern Conference’s third-place Sixers (46-22) will get the higher playoff seed if the teams finish with the same record. After Wednesday’s victory, they hold a four-game lead over the fourth-place Cavs (44-28) in the Eastern standings with 14 games remaining.

But this game had an interesting finish.

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Joel Embiid was called for his sixth foul when he apparently pushed off on Evan Mobley for an offensive foul with 4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining. However, coach Doc Rivers challenged the call. It was overturned, allowing the Sixers’ biggest star to remain in the game.

“I think it was a good call,” Embiid said of the overturn. “I never extended my arm and I never really put a lot of pressure into hitting him. And you could tell right before the hit, he was trying to flop and fall.”

Embiid was also awarded the jumper over Mobley to give the Sixers a 110-101 cushion, and the Sixers held onto the lead and the eventual victory. Embiid stressed that he had no concern that the refs would overturn the call.

“I didn’t think I had extended anything,” he said. “I watch basketball every day. And based on the way those are officiated — we got some guys that basically play like running backs in this league that get that call all the time — I was pretty confident.”

The crowd booed whenever Embiid touched the ball afterward, though it didn’t appear to bother the center. Embiid even trolled the fans during a break in action. He had a lot to boast about.

The six-time All-Star finished with game highs of 36 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks. James Harden added 28 points, a game-high 12 assists, and a team-high three steals. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points.

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Caris LeVert paced the Cavaliers with 24 points while making 5 of 10 three-pointers off the bench. The Sixers overcame 20 turnovers on this night.

“This is nice,” coach Doc Rivers said of earning the tiebreaker. “It gives us one more win from of them plus the tiebreaker. So that does definitely help.”

The Sixers mentioned the importance of getting the tiebreaker Wednesday morning.

“But more importantly, we mentioned that last time we were here, they beat the pants off of us,” Rivers said of the 113-85 drubbing, on Nov. 30. “So we have to show something tonight and I felt our guys did that.”

They showed that they’re prepared for the difficult final stretch.

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The Cavs were one of the toughest opponents the Sixers had faced. And the tough competition hasn’t hindered their play.

Wednesday’s victory extended the team’s winning streak to six games. Overall, the Sixers have won 15 of 18 contests. The squad is also one of the league’s hottest road teams at 20-12. They have won four straight road games and are 10-1 in the last 11 overall, even though the Sixers played the Cavaliers without Jalen McDaniels. The forward bruised his right hip in Sunday’s home victory over the Washington Wizards.

The Cavs were missing standout center Jarrett Allen, who was out with a bruised right eye.

With Allen sidelined, Cleveland second-year power forward Evan Mobley moved to center. The 7-foot, 215-pounder drew the tough assignment of having to guard the 7-2 and (listed) 280-pound Embiid.

Embiid scored 13 of the Sixers’ first 24 points. He did that by making his first four shots from the field and by making all four of his free-throw attempts. Embiid also had five rebounds, as Philly led by nine points early on.

The Cavs did a lot of double-teaming, but Embiid was still able to have his way. He ended the quarter with 15 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and a block. But if he had a weakness, it was his three costly turnovers. He finished the game with six.

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The Cavs went on to outscore the Sixers, 36-26, in the second quarter to take a 60-55 lead into intermission. The Sixers had no business being that close. They were being outplayed and had 10 fewer shot attempts.

But Embiid’s play kept the score close. He produced nine points on 3-for-5 shooting in the quarter, pushing his total up to 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting along with nine rebounds for the half.

The Cavs opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take a commanding 68-55 lead. The Sixers missed their first three shots until finally Maxey sank a jumper. However, the Cavs quickly scored on the ensuing possession, forcing Rivers to call a timeout.

Good move.

The Sixers responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to 70-65, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout with 8:04 left in the quarter. The Sixers extend then their run to 14-0 and took a 71-70 lead. They capped it off on Maxey’s three-pointer with 5:20 left in the quarter. After the lead seesawed, the Sixers went into the fourth quarter with an 84-83 lead.

Sloppy is the best way to describe the Sixers’ handling of the ball. Tried to dribble through traffic. Turnover. Swung the ball to an open teammate. Turnover. Rammed into Cleveland defenders on the way to the hoop. Turnover.

The Sixers committed seven mostly unforced turnovers in the first quarter alone.

The Cavs have the third-ranked defense and force the fourth-most turnovers. As a result, turnovers were expected. But a lot of them came on careless plays.

The Sixers traveled to Charlotte following the game for Friday’s contest with the Hornets at the Spectrum Center. It will mark the teams’ third and final meeting of the season. The Sixers split their previous two games against the Hornets (22-49). Charlotte defeated an undermanned Sixers squad, 107-101, on Nov. 23 in the Queen City. The Sixers avenged that loss with a 131-113 blowout victory on Dec. 11 at the Wells Fargo Center.

Friday’s game will also be a homecoming for McDaniels. He played in Charlotte for 3 ½ seasons before being traded to the Sixers on Feb. 9.

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