The Sixers are nearly unbeatable behind the hot hands of Shake Milton and Seth Curry

During Thursday’s 114-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 76ers received a major lift from Seth Curry and an even bigger one off the bench from Shake Milton.

And in doing so, it continued a season-long trend that when either of the two (or both) are shooting well from three-point territory, the Sixers are tough to beat. It so happened that both were on the mark in Cleveland.

Curry scored 19 points, including 16 by halftime, when the Sixers owned just a 58-56 lead. He shot 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and continued an impressive statistic. When Curry shoots at least 50% three-point range this season, the Sixers are 17-0.

Milton came off the bench and scored 27 points. He entered the game shooting 30.6% from three-point range, but hit 5 of 7 from deep. When Milton shoots at least 50% from three-point range, the Sixers are 9-1. (One of those games he was 1-for-1, but he’s recorded at least two attempts in every other contest.)

The shooting of both will become even more crucial in the postseason, when teams are forced to play more of a half-court game. Those open looks will likely exist with Joel Embiid drawing double teams, leaving teammates open on the perimeter.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid can’t allow his MVP fantasy to dash the Sixers’ postseason dreams | David Murphy

Before Thursday’s game, Milton’s three-point shooting had been a mystery. Last season, he shot 43% from three-point range. Curry has experienced some ups and downs, but he is still shooting 42.9% from three-point territory, which is 16th in the NBA. The league average this year is 36.7%.

Recently, coach Doc Rivers said he wants Curry shooting more, not just from three-point range, but from anyplace on the court. Rivers feels that Curry has one of the NBA’s best shooting strokes.

Curry is averaging 4.9 three-point attempts, just below the career high (5.0) he averaged last season with the Dallas Mavericks. Yet Curry is playing nearly five more minutes per game than last season.

Looking at it another way, last season he averaged 9.6 three-point attempts per 100 possessions, per NBA.com stats. This season, he is averaging 7.9 per 100 possessions.

Thursday was the first time this season Curry had attempted as many as 10 three-pointers in a game. His previous high this year was eight, on two occasions.

» READ MORE: Three reasons the Sixers beat the Cavaliers

Milton had gone the previous 12 games without making more than two threes. During that time, he shot 24.1% from three. Both Rivers and Milton feel that the number of games during the abbreviated season could have contributed to his difficulty.

“It’s just the ebb and flow of the league, playing a lot of games,” Rivers said after Thursday’s win. “One thing about this league that I always felt as a player, you get into these tough ways that kind of snowball quickly and then you’ve got to play yourself out of it. And I think he (Milton) has played himself out of it.”

Milton has been scoring more effectively lately. His next step is improving from three-point range. His big game against Cleveland improved his three-point percentage to 32.8%.

“It has been hard this season, how many games we are playing, we are constantly playing games, but I just continue to put in the work and trust it,” Milton said.

Milton isn’t as reliant on the three-point shot as Curry, because he can create his shot better, but it’s still important as the leader of the second unit that he keeps defenses honest with the deep ball.

The Sixers (33-15) will return to action Saturday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, who visit Memphis on Friday. Minnesota has had trouble defending the three. The Timberwolves are 28th in the NBA in opponent three-point percentage, allowing teams to shoot 38.6%.

That’s good news for Curry and Milton.