The Cavaliers had one of their best matches of the start of the season by winning their fourth consecutive victory at the Wells Fargo Center. Serious for more than three quarters, JB Bickerstaff’s troops were able to keep their backs and absorb the return of the Sixers without complaining. On the verge of a hold-up, Philly finally gave up in overtime (122-119) against the Garland-Strus-Allen trio.
The Sixers thought they were off to a good start when Evan Mobley had to prematurely join the bench, after only two minutes of play for two fouls. Enough to allow Joel Embiid to have free rein in the racket, even if Jarrett Allen and Tristan Thompson did not see it that way.
The superb duel Maxey – Garland
The Philly pivot did his usual work, but not enough to destabilize Cleveland. On the contrary, the aerial Jarrett Allen shook the circle several times, and Craig Porter Jr.’s two baskets kept the Cavs in the lead after 12 minutes (24-27). The good performances of Tyrese Maxey, author of 12 points in the second quarter, and De’Anthony Melton, author of 7 points in a row, were not enough to reverse the trend either.
The fault lies with Darius Garland who was able to resist his counterpart Maxey, but also with the marksmanship of Georges Niang, who kept the gap at +11 shortly before the break with a shot from behind the arc. (49-60). Cleveland’s lead finally reached 12 points after two baskets in quick succession from Max Strus, the last of which at the halftime buzzer sent from downtown (53-65).
Upon returning from the locker room, Max Strus showed color with two 3-point baskets while Darius Garland found Evan Mobley for an alley-oop while Jarrett Allen hit the nail on the head with a dunk to bring the gap to +17 (58 -75)! At 3-points, the Maxey-Harris-House trio fueled the 15-6 past the locals to reignite the suspense (73-81). Darius Garland pushed back the Sixers’ lead with a 3-pointer and a serve for Jarrett Allen’s ready-made dunk to allow Cleveland to finish the third quarter with a 9-point lead (79-88).
The Sixers miss the perfect heist
It was finally as money time approached that the locals managed to catch up with their evening opponent, when Joel Embiid scored four points then after the Flagrant I whistled to Max Strus on Tyrese Maxey in order to bring back the lead. one-possession gap (96-99). With Tobias Harris’ 3-pointer to equalize at 101-101, the end of the match was marked by the interception and Patrick Beverley who continued by placing a floater, his first basket of the evening, to put the Sixers through ahead (110-108)! The perfect heist was very close, except that Darius Garland did not tremble from the penalty line, and Joel Embiid failed to give his team victory on the last attempt before overtime ( 110-110).
Over the last five minutes, the Cavaliers did not tremble, relying on Jarrett Allen three times. We will also remember Craig Porter Jr’s acrobatic lay-up in front of Joel Embiid which preceded Jarrett Allen’s last basket to keep his team in the lead (119-120). It was then a hair’s breadth away from Tyrese Maxey’s lay-up finishing in the circle. Darius Garland then scored the last two shots of the match, synonymous with victory, since Maxey missed his last 3-point attempt (119-122).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Pat Beverley the antihero. The Sixers leader almost became the hero at the end of the match for the Sixers, when he made three brilliant shots in the space of a few seconds while the score was 108-108. With his active hands, he first forced Jarrett Allen’s loose ball into the paint, before snatching an offensive rebound on the next action in front of the same Allen then offering himself a floater, his first basket of the match ! Philly had just taken the lead for the first time since the first quarter and could hope to win with only 16 seconds remaining! In a highlight, it was he who went to defend on the last action on Darius Garland. Except that there, it was the leader of the Cavaliers who took the upper hand, causing a foul from his direct opponent to better equalize at 110-110 and force overtime, period during which it was Garland continued his domination until the final victory.
– Clash of the Titans. The duels between Sixers and Cavaliers are always interesting to follow because of the fight inside. In this case, even if Joel Embiid finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, we can say that it is Cleveland and its two-headed monster, Jarrett Allen (26 points, 13 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (18 points, 12 rebounds) who won the battle of the racket. More skillful, more regular and more efficient, Allen and Mobley tried everything to try to get Embiid out of his comfort, which they more or less succeeded since the Cameroonian finished the game at 9/21 on shots with six lost balls and six faults.
– “In-Season Tournament”. Philadelphia said goodbye to winning the NBA Cup with this setback for what was its last group match. The Sixers finish with 2v-2d while Cleveland returns to 2v-1d with one last match to play against Atlanta. Leader of Group A with three wins in three games, Indiana is the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals while the Cavs will try to defeat Atlanta to snatch a place as best second.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
