The Philadelphia 76ers began a very tough stretch of their schedule in Ohio on Wednesday with a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are playing seven out of eight games on the road, so they were looking for a good start.
Joel Embiid dominated in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers stormed back in the second, taking advantage of a bench-heavy lineup. However, Embiid was too much for the Cavs to handle and the Sixers walked away with a 118-109 win. The win gives Philadelphia the tiebreaker over Cleveland should the teams finish the season tied. However, the win also gave the Sixers a four-game lead in the standings and six in the loss column on the Cavaliers, who have only 10 games remaining.
Embiid had 36 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to lead the way. He was called for an offensive foul in the fourth quarter that would have fouled him out, but the Sixers challenged the call and it was overturned to keep him on the floor. James Harden had 28 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey added 23 points. Shake Milton had 11 huge points off the bench, Georges Niang had eight, and Tobias Harris had a tough night with just seven points and five rebounds.
Here are the player grades following the win: