The Sixers clawed their way back from 17 points down to beat the Cavaliers, 95-92, for their first home victory of the season on Monday. They had lost their first 14 games at the Wells Fargo Center.
Turning point
Tony Wroten made a left-handed layup with 9.1 seconds remaining to put the Sixers up, 93-92. Wroten scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The Sixers outscored the Cavs, 35-24, in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.
Follow the leader
Wroten was 8 for 18 from the floor for a team-high 20 points. He also added eight assists.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 18 points, handed out 13 assists and grabbed six rebounds. Carter-Williams had only one turnover.
Kevin Love, as expected with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving out because of injury, was the focal point of Cleveland's attack. Love scored 28 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.
NBA
Tristan Thompson added 18 points and nine boards for the Cavs. Joe Harris also scored a career-high 16 points.
Stat-egic
The Cavaliers missed 11 straight field goal attempts from the 6:49 mark of the third quarter until the 11:25 mark of the fourth.
Take a bow
Furkan Aldemir came to the Sixers last month with a reputation of being a strong rebounder. Aldemir appeared in his seventh NBA game Monday and he pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Aldemir's playing time is often limited. However, if you look at his rebounding per 36 minutes, the forward projected out to 14.1 boards over that span entering Monday.
Health check
Luc Mbah a Moute was out because of a toe injury, while Hollis Thompson missed his eighth straight game because of an upper respiratory infection.
James (knee/back) and Irving (back) did not make the trip with Cleveland.
Philadelphia native Dion Waiters was a late scratch because he was reportedly involved in a three-team trade.
What's next?
The Sixers host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Milwaukee is 18-17 on the season and 11-10 on the road.
Rookie Jabari Parker is out for the year after tearing his ACL. Parker averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 25 games before suffering the injury.
Brandon Knight leads the Bucks in scoring with 18.0 points a game. But in the teams’ first meeting back on Halloween, it was O.J. Mayo who hurt the Sixers with 25 points.