Undermanned Sixers hang tough against unbeaten Cavaliers but drop to 2-9
Jared McCain was a bright spot in the loss, scoring 34 points in his first NBA start. But Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers are far from tanking.
Yet, the losses they’re racking up are reminiscent of The Process era. Wednesday’s 114-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped the Sixers to 2-9, matching the 11-game record of a 2016-17 Sixers team that won just 28 games.
To say the least, this year’s team is expected to far better once it gets healthy and meshes as a unit.
It wasn’t a totally bad night for the Sixers, as rookie guard Jared McCain finished with career highs of 34 points, 10 assists, and two steals in his first career start.
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And unlike The Process era, the Sixers' losing ways have nothing to do with lack of talent.
This season has been a struggle in large part because their All-Star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey have yet to all play together. All three missed the Cavs (13-0) game due to Maxey’s strained right hamstring and Embiid and George’s left knee injury management.
The Sixers were also without reserve center Andre Drummond due to an illness.
But it’s hard to knock Philly’s effort. Playing a scrappy brand of basketball, they gave the Cavs all they could handle.
“Yeah, I mean you got to take the good with the bad,” guard Caleb Martin said. “Obviously, these are not the results that we want right now and obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces. Trying to figure things out a lot of pieces missing right now that we haven’t been able to consistently have together. Those are things that you still have to take positives out of some of the negatives right now and be able to carry over and apply to whenever the pieces do come back.
“So, I’m not the type to make excuses about whether people are in or not. I still believe we have enough in the locker room to win games.”
McCain is one of those pieces, and he continued to shine while making a career-high six three-pointers.
The 20-year-old joined Hall of Famer Allen Iverson (twice) and Ben Simmons as the only Sixers rookies in franchise history to produce at least 30 points and 10 assists. He also generated three straight performances with at least 20 points, making this the longest such streak by a franchise rookie since Embiid did so 10 straight times from Dec. 23, 2016 to Jan. 18, 2017. He’s also the only league rookie this season with multiple 20-plus-point games.
But it’s hard for him to fully celebrate his accomplishments due to the squad’s struggles.
» READ MORE: Jared McCain's career-night kept the scrappy Sixers afloat in loss to Cavaliers
“It’s different because you want to play well, but you also want to win,” he said. “Every stage I’ve been on since high school to college, even if I played bad, it’s OK because we won, but now it’s kind of flipped.
“So, I have to learn not to be complacent with just playing good and losing, but I’m also learning how to even play good on the court. So, it’s a balance for sure. Just talking to the vets. We know we’re going to get back right. Even with everybody out, we can still find ways to win.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 20 points and six rebounds. Martin had 18 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Reggie Jackson had his best performance of the season with 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting off the bench.
But the Cavs kept responding to every run or clutch basket the Sixers made.
A prime example came after McCain hit his sixth three-pointer to close the gap to two points with 5 minutes, 33 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Evan Mobley responded with a layup, plus a foul call. He converted the three-point play to give Cleveland a 101-96 cushion 17 seconds later.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid says ‘we’ll be fine’ once Sixers get their star trio on the court together amid a slow start
They also capitalized off of the Sixers’ missed opportunities. Martin missed a layup, leading to a fast-break at the other end for the Cavs. Donovan Mitchell ended the possession by burying a corner three-pointer to make it a 106-100 game with 2:52 left.
Mitchell, a five-time All-Star, finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. He scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-6 shooting.
The Sixers’ talent level drops several notches when their star players aren’t available. .
“I mean, listen, I don’t think there’s any, um … we’re certainly not happy with where we’re standing right now in our record, right?” coach Nick Nurse said before the game. “We’re certainly going to have to dig our way out of this. We just got to try to do the best we can getting these guys back on the floor first and foremost and then go from there.”
Against Cleveland, the Sixers went with a starting lineup of Oubre, Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, McCain, and Kyle Lowry. Yabusele, who is 6-foot-8, was the tallest available Sixer. Meanwhile, the Cavs started two 6-11 post players in power forward Mobley and center Jarrett Allen.
But the Sixers’ scrappy play combined with McCain’s offense kept them in the game.