Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (42-26) took on Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers (34-36) in part of the Wednesday NBA slate. It was the Sixers who came out on top with 118-114 being the final score.
The 76ers took control of this game early and had built up a 72-59 halftime lead. However, an abysmal third quarter that featured them scoring just 13 points and being outscored by an 18-point margin caused them to be trailing entering the final period. Philadelphia managed to out-execute the Cavaliers down the stretch.
Joel Embiid led the way with a staggering 35 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists while Tyrese Maxey (25), James Harden (21), and Tobias Harris (19) combined to score 65 additional points.
The Cavaliers were led by 22 points and seven assists from Darius Garland but the team shooting 9-28 (32.1 percent) from beyond the arc proved to be too poor of a clip to overcome in the end.
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Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers face the need to rack up as many wins as possible to maximize their playoff positioning. Right now, Philadelphia holds the third-ranked record in the Eastern Conference and trails the top-seeded Miami Heat by 3.0 games.
It has been a bit of a struggle for the Cavaliers to achieve consistent success as of late. Without Jarrett Allen in the lineup, they’ve leaned more on Evan Mobley playing the five and that’s worked, but overall, they’ve been unable to overcome being shorthanded.
It’s been getting close for the Cavs when it comes to avoiding the play-in as they are now tied with the Toronto Raptors in the standings. Caris LeVert is back in the fold for Cleveland and they will need him to take pressure off Darius Garland. They will also need Evan Mobley to continue his success at the five.
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James Harden and Joel Embiid will look to continue to find a rhythm playing alongside each other. There have been some sluggish results as of late.
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