3 observations after Sixers improbably end 7-game losing streak by beating Cavs – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers were going to win sometime.

No one outside the locker room would have guessed they would do that against the Eastern Conference’s best team this season.

The Sixers earned a 132-129 victory over the Cavs on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center to end a seven-game losing streak.

They improved to 16-27 overall. Cleveland fell to 36-8.

The Sixers’ top scorers were Paul George (30 points), Tyrese Maxey (29 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (22).

The Cavs got 37 points from Donovan Mitchell and a career-high 33 from Ty Jerome. Darius Garland added 26.

The Sixers were down six playersincluding Joel Embiid (dealing with left knee injury), Andre Drummond (left toe injury recovery) and Caleb Martin (right hip sprain). Embiid will remain out Saturday night in Chicago against the Bulls, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse confirmed pregame.

Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert sat out with injuries.

Here are observations from the Sixers’ pretty amazing win over the Cavs:

A much improved effort

The bar wasn’t high, but the Sixers started with significantly more energy and focus than they had shown in Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets.

Guerschon Yabusele hit a corner three and then stoned a Mitchell drive, tying him inside. He’s obviously not the Sixers’ first-choice starting center, but Yabusele has often injected some life this season when the Sixers have been short on it. Yabusele wore a brace on his right knee on Friday and appeared to be struggling through the injury that recently caused him to miss two games.

Maxey was terrific in the first quarter, posting 14 points, hitting three long-range jumpers and dishing out four assists. Across the board, the Sixers made almost every jump shot they made. They started 8 for 10 from beyond the arc and went up 38-33 late in the first period on a Maxey lay-in.

Everything looks better when the jumpers fall, but Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was right to believe his team would play harder and better on Friday night.

Trembling start with George

Rebounding remained problematic for the Sixers, who have been a bottom-10 team this year in both offensive and defensive rebound rate. Cleveland scored 14 of the game’s first 16 second-chance points.

The Cavs also posted their first seven points of the night off turnovers. George had four giveaways in the first half, including a cross-right pass from the post that he slotted into the fourth row. His six giveaways in the game tied a season high.

George struggled with Maxey sitting early in the second quarter. He started 1 for 6 from the field, though he eventually found his footing with a post-timeout dunk and a go-ahead layup.

Although Justin Edwards had another very solid outing — 15 points, six rebounds — the Sixers were playing an eight-man rotation and needed a ton from their stars. Meanwhile, the Cavs got a massive performance off the bench from Jerome. Their second unit outscored the Sixers by a 50-24 margin.

The Sixers find huge runs when needed

The Sixers’ shooting woes didn’t carry over into the early stages of the third quarter, and Nurse called timeout after a Mitchell layup gave Cleveland a 77-69 edge.

Immediately, the Sixers hit the Cavs with a 9-0 run. They moved to zone defense, Yabusele took a big slam and George drained a three. Great response in a place where the Sixers could have easily been deflated against a healthier, high-caliber opponent.

George was the Sixers’ tallest player on the floor during a short stretch of small ball vs. small ball in the third quarter. The Sixers stayed on top during that period thanks largely to George’s scoring, taking a 96-91 lead on an Oubre layup in the final minute of the third. Oubre had a strong night approach-wise, playing aggressively without being reckless or hoping for bad calls.

Jerome cut Cleveland’s deficit to two points with a long jumper that beat the buzzer in the third quarter. He remained ultra-hot in the fourth, sinking back-to-back threes to lift the Cavs to a 116-110 lead.

Again, the Sixers summoned a big run just when it was called for.

Improbably, they scored the next 13 points in a crowd-pleasing spurt that featured threes by George and Eric Gordon. In his seventh straight start, Gordon drained all four of his three-pointers.

Cleveland helped out with a few missed layups and missed foul shots, but the Sixers mostly made their own luck with excellent energy and infectious shotmaking.

Oubre fouled out with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, but Edwards stepped in and almost immediately tried to throw down a huge dunk. He was fouled in the process and converted both of his shots at the charity stripe.

The Sixers built an eight-point lead with 86 seconds left, though Cleveland wasn’t done. While the Sixers failed on a few attempts to ice the game, the Cavs kept the pressure on. A Jerome corner three trimmed the Sixers’ lead to 127-126 with 11.5 seconds left.

Maxey was intentionally fouled and went 2 for 2 at the line. Jerome then botched the ensuing sideline out-of-bounds play and threw his pass into an open area near the scorer’s table. It bounced out of bounds and the Sixers safely navigated their way to the final buzzer.