Cavaliers 121, Sixers 112: Sluggish start dooms Sixers against NBA's worst team

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The Sixers were eventually going to lose at Wells Fargo Center. You just didn’t think it would be against the NBA’s worst team.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sixers on Friday night, 121-112, behind 25 points from Rodney Hood and 23 from Collin Sexton. The Sixers drop to 13-8 overall and 10-1 at home.

• With the Sixers fresh off four straight wins, including Wednesday’s dramatic victory over the Pelicans, head coach Brett Brown wanted to guard against a letdown vs. the Cavs, who entered the game 2-14.

“As the coach, you always are — terrified is too dramatic — you’re always aware of letdowns,” Brown said pregame. “After Thanksgiving, you come back, you’re proud of your home court, we’ve won a bunch in a row here at home. I think it always gets back to do you guard? Do you play defense?”

Brown also identified defensive rebounding as a focus after the Sixers gave up 20 offensive boards to the Pelicans, a season high by a Sixers’ opponent. 

His concerns were validated early; Cleveland jumped out to a 22-8 lead before the Sixers woke up. The Cavs grabbed the game’s first 11 offensive boards. Tristan Thompson, who entered the night third in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game, had eight by himself.   

• JJ Redick helped lift the Sixers back into the game following a poor shooting night against New Orleans (5 for 15 from the field, 0 for 7 from three-point range). Redick had a team-high 13 points in the first half. While the defensive attention he draws is important, and his skill as a screen-setter is valuable, a big part of Redick’s worth to the Sixers is simply making shots. 

• The Cavs double teamed Joel Embiid in the post as much as we’ve seen since the Sixers played the Hawks on Oct. 29. They didn’t recklessly send doubles as soon as Embiid touched the ball, but Cleveland forced Embiid to turn the ball over or quickly give it up on several occasions. 

Embiid had two points on one field-goal attempt in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, Embiid adjusted by camping out more on the perimeter, draining two three-point shots. He has the versatility to counter just about any defensive scheme.

Still, it’s surprising that Embiid hasn’t yet seen more frequent double teams, given how dominant he’s been inside. At some stage, you’d expect more teams to start following the Cavs’ example. 

Embiid finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

• Jimmy Butler has a good sense for how to balance letting the game come to him and seeking out scoring opportunities. He’s leaned toward the deferential side of that spectrum early in his Sixers career, but his assertive approach was needed to help the Sixers recover from their rough start.

However, Butler went missing in the fourth quarter, with just of his 22 points in the period. Butler did leave in the fourth with a left ankle sprain. X-rays were negative and he'll be re-evaluated tomorrow. Butler said after the game that he feels "OK" and didn't rule out playing Sunday against the Nets.

• For once, there wasn’t much Markelle Fultz drama to speak of. 

Responding to The Athletic’s report that Fultz “could prefer a change in scenery,” Brown said before the game, “Speaking with people, I don’t put any stock into that. I really don’t.”

• Sexton and Hood both made a ton of closely contested long twos. For the most part, the Sixers forced the Cavs into attempting the shots they wanted them to take. It’s just that a lot more of them went in than on a typical night.

The Cavs shot 11 for 22 from three-point range. 

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