The Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the lowly, Philadelphia 76ers, Sunday afternoon, who entered play with just one win and 27 losses on the season. The Cavs would hand the Sixers their tenth straight loss, winning 108-86, and improve their own win-streak to five games.
The Cavs actually trailed Philly at the end of the first quarter, 25-21, but Cleveland outscored the Sixers 34-23 in the second and never looked back.
Cleveland increased their lead to as many as 29 in the third quarter, and entered the fourth quarter ahead 88-60.
The Cavs would cruise through the fourth quarter, and come away with a 108-86 victory, in a game that was never in doubt after the first quarter.
The Cavs improved to 18-7 on the season with the victory, and are 12-1 at home. Next up, they take on the New York Knicks, Wednesday night at 7 PM.
Welcome Back
Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving made his long-awaited season-debut, as the Cavalier’ faithful roared and cheered when his name was announced in the starting lineup introductions and gave him a standing ovation the first time he touched the ball in the first quarter.
Irving had a quiet first half, shooting just 1-for-6, but came alive, early in the third quarter, driving to the hoop and finishing with a dazzling layup. The next possession, Irving drained his first three of the season, the first of many to come.
A few minutes later, he came up with a steal from Nerlens Noel, and drove to the hoop for a fast break layup.
Kyrie hit his second three-pointer of the night with 8:08 to play in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 12 points and four assists. Irving only played 17 minutes.
Who Went Off?
LeBron James, as usual, was dominant. James scored 17 points in the first half, on 8-of-13 shooting, and had five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the first half alone.
LeBron would finish the night with 23 points, not having to do much work after halftime.
Who Was Off?
The Sixers. As they have been all season. Even for a team purposely trying to lose, I’m not sure they could have expected any worse results this season. It’s so bad that the NBA had to intervene and bring Jerry Colangelo into the fold, and even that has not helped, in terms of wins and losses.
Sunday was no different from any other game this season, as the Sixers shot just 35 % on the night, making 30 of 86 field goal attempts.
From Down Under
Cavs’ guard Matthew Dellavedova was brilliant, erupting in the third quarter, knocking down back-to-back threes, grabbing a steal and taking it to the hole, making a difficult layup, while drawing contact.
Delly scored a season-high 20 points on the night. Whoever thought that his role would decrease with the return of Irving must not have told him, but playing against Philadelphia may have had something to do with the outburst from the Outback.
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