76ers at Cavaliers Recap: Cavaliers Rebound to 2OT Win

Nov 9, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Jarrett Jack (1) celebrates after making a three-point basket in the first overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Sixers’s lost this game on rebounding. They gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Still, they stuck around. They hung in there. They made it to second OT but never led during that time as they played catch-up.

Sixers didn’t play the hustle ball like last night. Still, they actually played good defense. It’s frustrating when you have a solid defensive possession and then give up an offensive rebound hurts. A lot.

The recap is really that simple. Sixers could’ve won easily. Anyway, let’s talk about how the fourth, first OT, and second OT ended and how even then, this game shouldn’t have lasted this long.

Towards the end of the final quarter, Sixers found themselves down by 2. Thad Young, who was struggling in the second half after carrying the team in the first half, got his number called and had a really nice layup with enough time to the Cavaliers.

Kyrie Irving easily went by Michael Carter-Williams for a game winning layup. He missed. What was interesting was that, it seemed like he had a good look and it bounced around the rim.

Now, OT. Sixers ended up down by 7 points with a minute left. They somehow came back. So, let’s rewind, a bit. The Cavaliers missed a shot and, once again, the Sixers struggled to get the defensive board. It ended up being a loose ball chase between Thad Young and Anderson Varejao. It clearly went off of Thad Young, in my opinion, but they gave it to the Sixers. Sixers proceeded to turn the ball over and had a few lapses of bad basketball and the Cavaliers took advantage.

Next thing ya know, Sixers storm back. Evan Turner scores his last basket of the game, which gave him a career high in points, to tie the game up. Once again, Kyrie Irving zipped by MCW and had a look. No. Second OT. By this time, you could tell the teams’ legs were tired. There were plenty of front rim misses and a few air balls.

The Sixers gave up a couple of key rebounding battles in the second OT. In these times, every possession counts. You can’t keep giving teams extra cracks at the basket. Still, the Cavaliers only won the total rebound margin by six boards. Sixers looked like, once again, they would lose the game. MCW made a really big three.

Let me just pause here. MCW hit that three pointer and that shot, for me, solidified that he’s legit. There’s just not enough luck in the world. How good he will become remains to be seen. However, he’s got the be the starting PG for this eventual contender. This kid is real.

Anyway, he made a three pointer to tie the game with 11.3 seconds. This time, the Sixers made a sort of adjustment in doubling Kyrie Irving, who was going for the third game winner attempt. It didn’t matter. He went by, and finally got the layup with .6 seconds left.

In what could be a questionable call, apparently, the Sixers were going for an inbound alley-oop. Not a real problem for me. The problem was that they were going with James Anderson. Eh. It didn’t matter because MCW threw it into the stands. And so the Cavs inbounded and game.

While I figured Kyrie would bring the heat, the player of the game has to go to Jarrett Jack. He made some veteran moves that hurt the Sixers. One key move was forcing a Sixers turnover when he apparently tricked Spencer Hawes into knocking him over. He made big shots as well, especially when the team was down by 10 to start the third quarter as well as during OT.

I wish Tony Wroten got to play in OT. I think his energy could’ve helped in a big way. However, Anderson spent the second OT bodying up the Cavs’ bigs which was key too.

It was a fun game. OT games are always fun. And if you’re a neutral fan, it’s tough to accept anybody losing because both teams obviously want it and refuse to quit. Ya gotta love games like that.

Next game is vs the Spurs on Monday. Keep it here at The Sixer Sense for more coverage on this mysterious Sixers team.