Philadelphia’s new starting group spent one half looking disconnected, then spent the next 24 minutes looking like a problem for the rest of the East. The 76ers climbed out of a 29-point hole Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, turning a 69-45 halftime deficit into a 114-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was Philadelphia’s second straight statement to begin the season, following its opening-night road win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland, coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season, controlled the first half with Donovan Mitchell setting the tone. The Sixers answered with a 69-37 margin after intermission, their five starters accounting for 64 of those second-half points.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 32 points. Joel Embiid supplied 24, Jaylen Brown posted 21 points and eight rebounds, and LeBron James finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Rookie VJ Edgecombe filled several columns with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Embiid’s basket with 6:54 remaining put Philadelphia ahead for the first time, 96-95. It was the payoff for a third-quarter push that had reduced the Cavaliers’ 24-point halftime lead to a one-possession game by the 3:59 mark.
“There’s a lot we can take from 96 minutes of being together,” James said, pointing to offensive execution, mental habits and the club’s good and bad stretches. “Every opportunity we get on the floor or in film, we have to learn from it. We have to put our minds and souls into it. It’s definitely a marathon.”
Philadelphia flipped the physicality
The opening half was largely a turnover clinic in the wrong direction for Philadelphia. The Sixers gave it away 11 times in the first 13 minutes, and Cleveland converted those mistakes into a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers. After a Maxey giveaway late in the second quarter led to a Mitchell 3-pointer, the Cavaliers held a 22-6 edge in points from turnovers and a 67-39 lead.
Some of that sloppiness reflected a group still learning its spacing and timing. James and Brown are new additions, and Thursday marked only the second regular-season game for a starting five still sorting out passing lanes, cuts and preferred touches.
Brown said the response mattered more than the ugly opening portion. “It’s a great opportunity for us to respond to adversity,” he said. “There are going to be ups and downs all year. How we respond is going to be 80% of the battle. We could have been pointing fingers down 30. We got after it. I like that.”
Coach Nick Nurse saw two games packed into one night, but valued the way his club stayed connected long enough to find a route back. He said the Sixers had discussed bringing greater effort and physical force after halftime, then allowing that improvement to determine whether a comeback was possible.
“It’s kind of a wild way to win,” Nurse said. “You get two halves that don’t resemble each other at all. But at least it’s a dig-in, 48-minute game.”
The Cavaliers arrived eager to finally open their schedule after being one of two teams idle on each of the season’s first two days. They looked sharp early, with Mitchell scoring 20 of his 32 points before halftime. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Evan Mobley added 18 points and eight boards.
But once Philadelphia raised the pressure, Cleveland began making the same kind of mistakes that had buried the Sixers earlier. Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said his team did not adequately handle the more physical second-half approach, though he took some encouragement from Cleveland still having a chance in a loud road building after the momentum swung.
“They increased their pressure and physicality,” Atkinson said. “It was pretty clear. We did not handle it well.”
Another home introduction for James
At 41, James made a home debut with his fourth franchise, and the night carried the full range of a Philadelphia welcome. He heard the early boos, then the building’s roar as the comeback formed.
“It was everything I dreamed of and more,” James said. “We got the boos, which was amazing. We deserved it. Then we got the cheers and nearly blew the roof off this place in a good way. It was a hell of a night.”
James called it the largest comeback victory of his career. His wife, Savannah, and daughter Zhuri were in attendance as well; Zhuri celebrated her 12th birthday Thursday and received a Jumbotron greeting from her father.
For Philadelphia, the early evidence is that James does not need to carry every possession to shape a game. He defended, rebounded, created for teammates and let Maxey and Embiid lead the scoring load. Brown’s two-way presence and Edgecombe’s all-around activity added to a lineup that has little margin for casual stretches but showed a high ceiling once it found its edge.
“It’s good to figure it out and win at the same time,” Brown said.
