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The Cavaliers headed into Saturday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center with a 12-21 record and nine players available.
Although the Sixers should have sent the Cavs on paper, they found themselves down 13 points in the second quarter. They overcame that deficit in the second half, but were never able to overtake Cleveland.
Joel Embiid missed a basic jumper on the final possession of the Sixers rulebook, sending the game into overtime.
“… This is my plan, and I’m working on it,” Embiid said. “It’s too bad I missed it. So what? You move on, you learn from it. Next time there is this opportunity, I’m sure I’ll get there.”
Cleveland scored the first five points of the extra session and held the Sixers on the sidelines for a 112-109 victory, pulling the Sixers down to 22-12.
Embiid led the team with 42 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Ben Simmons recorded 24 points on an 11 for 17 shot, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Sixers face the Pacers on Monday in their penultimate game before the All-Star break. Here are the observations on Saturday’s loss:
Feel the absence of Harris
Furkan Korkmaz started in place of Tobias Harris, who had come out with a bruised right knee. It was obvious early on that the Sixers didn’t have a real third scoring option as Embiid and Simmons combined to score 33 of the Sixers’ 47 points in the first half, shooting 11 for 20 from the floor. Their teammates scored 4 of 16 field goals. Seth Curry never recovered his shot, missing 12 of his 13 shots in the game.
“Not really,” head coach Doc Rivers said when asked if he was concerned about Curry. “I just think the shooters shoot, and they go through little stretches. I don’t think he’s been very consistent since his return from COVID. We’ve heard other players have gone as well and came out like that …. They told us to keep playing it, and that’s what we do.
Instead of being able to place Harris on a smaller forward or give him the ball in advantageous pick-and-roll situations, the Sixers were relying on their two All-Stars. This is one of the many reasons the team are hoping Harris will be cleared to return soon.
“It’s 20 and 10, roughly,” Danny Green said. “You miss him, especially another perimeter shooter, another goalscorer, another guy who can reach the free throw line, a taller guy who can defend a bit and bounce back. We were passed tonight. really missed tonight. Hope he comes back soon. It doesn’t matter who we have on the pitch, who is healthy or injured, we have to go out and play for 48 minutes. There are no excuses . We ‘I have to find ways to win. “
Mike Scott took Korkmaz’s place to open the second half and played decently, scoring five points in the third period and providing more defensive strength. Tyrese Maxey returned to the rotation late in the third quarter with Rivers trying to buy some rest for Simmons and Embiid before the critical moment.
“Just anyone with speed or pace, or someone who would play hard,” Rivers said of his decision to play Maxey. “I actually thought he did that. I thought he was pretty good. You could see he hadn’t played in one with some of the things he did, but that’s it. ‘one of those games where you are just looking. I thought Mike Scott gave us a big boost in the third quarter. He’s on a minute restriction so we used up all of his minutes unfortunately. I thought that’ it would also have helped us to progress.
With Korkmaz on the line for three free throws and the Sixers trailing by one point with 6.6 seconds left in the third, the team looked likely to enter the final quarter with a lead. However, Korkmaz missed two of the three fouls and Collin Sexton (28 points on an 11 for 27 shot) converted a suspension from his latest failure. Shake Milton (11 points, six rebounds) ended the game against Korkmaz.
The zone can’t solve everything
The Sixers looked to an area early in the second period where Simmons and Matisse Thybulle were leading the defense. Cleveland responded by using their own zone, which meant that an NBA game had a rare handful of zone-versus-zone minutes.
Neither team has gained a significant advantage during this time. Thybulle had some good times on both ends of the ground, including a steal that led to a Simmons dunk and a right wing three point.
Still, the Cavs were able to find the area’s weak spot on several occasions and the Sixers’ offense couldn’t consistently handle open shots.
The Cavs had great transition success early on, scoring 15 quick break points in the first 15 minutes, and the Sixers’ neglect certainly didn’t help their cause. Overall, the Sixers lacked energy and sharpness in the first half. Rivers canceled a time out with 5:58 left in the second quarter and his team lost 13, unhappy as the Sixers started another possession that didn’t seem to have a clear purpose.
A zone remains a wise change of pace option for the team, but the occasions in which it dramatically alters the momentum of the game and arouses the Sixers like January 31 against the Pacers are unusual.
Embiid gets back on track
Although Embiid missed a turnaround jumper in the Sixers’ first possession, it was immediately obvious that throwing the ball to him was the team’s best bet to produce a good offense.
Rivers noted after Thursday’s game that he would prefer Embiid not actively trying to foul, but it’s understandable why it would be tempting to do so, given Embiid’s talent for it. Managing his size and skills legally is no easy task, and he is very good at exploiting this fact.
The big man All-Star shot 14 for 16 from the foul line, the 10th straight game he’s had 10 or more free throw attempts. Embiid came in on Saturday after shooting just 26.4% from the floor in his last three games, but he appears to be one of the toughest players in the NBA.
The Cavs passed Embiid more frequently in the second half, adopting the common strategy of asking the other Sixers to beat them. Embiid mainly found the right balance between switching to open man and contact feeding to score when possible.
“I thought, especially in the fourth and extra time, posting me gave us a lot of stares,” Embiid said. “We scored a lot of that, whether it was me or me sending the ball and (the teammates) swinging it. To the other side. It’s hard to keep doing that. It gets easier for the other team. Now you’ve got another perimeter threat like Tobias where you can give him the ball, throw a pick-and-roll – and I think that’s where we missed him a lot in the half court.
Another bright spot for the Sixers was Simmons’ continued development as a goal scorer. Cleveland didn’t have the right staff to take care of him, especially on a night when the team was shorthanded and Simmons had the spirit of attack. He appears to be gaining comfort with his right hook, a shot he exercises during his typical pre-game routine with assistant coach Sam Cassell. Right-wing runners and floats are now an integral part of its arsenal.
In seasons past, Simmons was often more preoccupied with stepping off the post, scanning the ground for open knives. Ultimately, Rivers and the Sixers believe he can be a multifaceted bona fide low-post threat.
Simmons’ seven turnovers were the biggest drawback to his performance. He’s returned the ball more than 13 times in the Sixers’ two losses this season to Cleveland.
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