PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 128, Cleveland Cavaliers 105
Throw out the records as center Joel Embiid had already stated the Philadelphia 76ers were seeking revenge after getting beat badly by the Cleveland Cavaliers in their initial meeting.
This was the first game since the Cleveland Cavaliers basically blew out the Philadelphia 76ers for its first home loss and Embiid was looking forward to the rematch. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, after the Indiana game on Friday, Embiid said:
"“We’re going to go there with revenge. We’re going to want to punch them in the mouth because we lost against them, which shouldn’t have happened.”"
Revenge was sweet (at least as sweet as it can be against one of the worst teams in the NBA) as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 128-105 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
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A major difference in the rematch was that the Cavs did not have center Tristan Thompson available due to injury. He did a good defensive job on Embiid and gobbled up eight offensive boards the first time.
The final score was a bit deceiving as the Sixers only held a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
The game marked the return of Jimmy Butler after a two-game absence and that helped settle a defense that was spotty (to be kind) at times.
Without Thompson, the Cavs were basically a donut team and Embiid and Simmons did basically whatever they wanted inside.
A major key was the Sixers cutting way down on their usually high number of turnovers. The one thing Cleveland is good at is taking care of the ball but the Sixers actually had less by a 12-10 margin and Simmons had none.
The Sixers led by as much as 16 points in the third period but Cleveland cut it to one point on a 12-0 run fueled by the usual Sixers toxic combination of atrocious defense, turnovers and Embiid not getting the ball inside. Wilson Chandler (remember him?) hit a three-pointer at the end to give Philly an 89-85 lead going into the final period
The Sixers were able to take a 65-58 lead at halftime after trailing by eight points at one point in the second, having gone for a spell into their ‘Defense, what’s that?‘ routine, as Cleveland’s array of jump shooters and slashers had their way for a time.
Ben Simmons had 15 points and nine assists at the half while Embiid chipped in with 16 points in 13 minutes (and they were ‘Bully Ball’ points, not much on the perimeter).
A-. <strong>29 mins | 24 pts | 9 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 10-16 FG | 0-1 3PT| 4-6 FT | 1 PF | +13|</strong><p>Not having Mr. Khloe Kardashian available, Cleveland really had no one to match up with Embiid. He pretty much did what he wanted inside, and this is where he stayed almost the entire game. Embiid was pure ‘Bully Ball’ as he attempted just one three-pointer. When he was not in the game, Sixers really suffered on defensive end.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
SF. Philadelphia 76ers. JIMMY BUTLER. B+. <strong>25 mins | 19 pts | 2 reb | 2 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 6-10 FG | 3-4 3PT| 4-5 FT | 1 PF | +18|</strong><p>After a two-game absence due to a groin injury, Butler made a nice return, scoring 19 points in just 25 minutes. He made a dagger three-pointer in the fourth period that pretty much put the game away. His perimeter defense was sorely needed against a Cavs team full of scorers off-the-dribble. Now he gets to chase <a rel=
Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. A+. <strong>32 mins | 22 pts | 11 reb | 14 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 9-15 FG | 0-0 3PT| 4-5 FT | 4 PF | +23|</strong><p>He got off to a fast start, scoring 11 of the Sixers first 20 points and had a triple-double by the four-minute mark of the third quarter. He now has 15 triple-doubles in his career, only <a rel=. PG
B. <strong>15 mins | 16 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 6-7 FG | 4-5 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | -6|</strong><p>Shamet was on<em> fire</em> from outside. He knocked down his first six shots, his only miss came in garbage time in the final minutes. With neither <a rel=. G. Philadelphia 76ers. LANDRY SHAMET
B. <strong>29 mins | 11 pts | 7 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 3 TO | 4-10 FG | 2-6 3PT| 1-1 FT | 1 PF | +20|</strong><p>Coming off an Indiana game where in 30 minutes he scored as much as I did watching from the couch and eating potato chips (that is<strong><em> zero</em></strong>), Chandler showed a lot more energy on both ends of the floor.</p><p>As the fifth option on offense in the starting lineup, it can be hard to get shots but Chandler is a veteran who should figure it out. On the defensive end, Chandler used his savvy to stop players who are probably quicker. Remember that Chandler has had to sit out a stretch of games twice already due to injury so, hopefully, he is rounding into shape.</p>. F. Philadelphia 76ers. WILSON CHANDLER
The Sixers are now 20-11 on the season, a half-game behind Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference standings. Cleveland is just 7-23 but they had been 2-2 in its previous four games.
Next. Sixers Player of the Week - Joel Embiid. dark
Now comes one of those killer games the NBA schedule delivers. The Sixers fly tonight to San Antonio for the second game of a back-to-back against the Spurs, who have not played since Saturday.