The Philadelphia 76ers once again gave a terrific effort on the floor. As has been a theme recently without Joel Embiid, the Sixers have produced terrific efforts that would normally win games, but they haven’t been able to seal the deal.
That was the case in Friday’s 117-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers to begin a two-game road trip. The Sixers didn’t shoot the ball well at 44.7% compared to 54.9% for Cleveland. However, Philadelphia won the rebounding battle 42-37 despite the Cavs’ obvious size advantage and had 24 second-chance points.
The Sixers received 23 points and six assists out of Kyle Lowry while Tobias Harris had 21 points and seven rebounds. Those performances helped overcome the struggles of Tyrese Maxey, who shot just 7-for-26 on the night.
“Just too many breakdowns defensively,” Harris told reporters after the loss. “Especially, when it comes to second-chance points that lead to 3s. Too many times, we got scrambled out the floor, and they end up getting open looks from 3. Those plays all add up at the end of the game that we have to get better at. All of us.”
To Harris’s point, the Cavs grabbed a number of key rebounds that led to 3-pointers by former Sixer Georges Niang, and then Evan Mobley made a big triple with 28.2 seconds left to give Cleveland the lead for good. The offensive struggles were too much for the Sixers to overcome.
“Offensively, we just got to keep searching and creating for the best look night in and night out,” Harris added. “It’s a tough one because it came down to the wire there. We had a really good chance. That 3-ball by Mobley there hurt us, obviously, but we just gotta keep fighting and figuring out a way.”
Philadelphia will now face the Toronto Raptors on the road on Sunday.
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