Cavs vs Sixers
The story of the game began early on with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Philadelphia 76ers. The first quarter was highlighted by the Sixers going 11/13 in the paint area lead by Center Joel Embiid. He had eight points in about seven and a half minutes of play. The Cavs went just 6/15 from the paint area, and were led by Darius Miles, who had a strong start with six points. The quarter ended with a Sixers 33-22 lead.
The Sixers kicked it into high gear in the second quarter to finish off the half. Embiid finished off with 14 points to go along with Tobias Harris 12 points. Tristan Thompson led the way for the Cavs with 10 points and matched Kevin Love’s rebound total with five. The Sixers lead by as much as 29 with their big second quarter.
In the third quarter the Sixers stretched out their largest lead to 31 points. However, the Cavs still fought and were outscored by just two points for the quarter. The Sixers bench player Furkan Korkmaz had a breakout quarter adding nine points to total 13 at the end of the quarter. Tobias Harris led with 19 points at the end of the quarter. Colin Sexton added five more points as he sought to be more aggressive.
The Cavs brought a lot more energy in the fourth quarter; they got the lead under 20, but it was very short lived. They outscored the Sixers in the quarter, but it was already far too late. The game ended with the Sixers shooting nearly 55 percent, and the Cavs shooting a mere 38 percent from the field. The Sixers inside presence also lead to them stretching the floor to go 9/23 from the three point line.
The most separation for the Sixers came from in the paint, and having 33 assists opposed to the Cavs 14. But the Cavs fought hard on the glass with 42 compared to the Sixers 44. The Cavs did dominate the offensive glass with 11 rebounds to the Sixers 4. The turnovers were around the same as well. The final quarter ended 114-95 as the young Cavs just didn’t have enough to compete with one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Written By: Anthony Barnes