The Philadelphia 76ers and their fans got a look at what might have been on Friday night.
No, the “Big Three” that the Sixers envisioned taking into this season for a run at an Eastern Conference title and NBA championship weren’t on the floor together.
But two out of three weren’t bad against the Cleveland Cavaliers. (The late singer Meat Loaf might have been proud.) In fact, it was enough for the Sixers to beat the team tied for the top record in the NBA.
Paul George scored 30 points, shooting 6-of-11 on 3s, and Tyrese Maxey added 29 with seven assists. Instead of Joel Embiid, out with swelling in his left knee, Kelly Oubre Jr. played the third role with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Guerschon Yabusele scored 12 points with 13 rebounds, leading to a 132–129 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Cavs took a 28–23 lead on a 3-pointer by Sam Merrill with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, but Philadelphia went on a 16–5 run from there to end the opening frame fueled by 3s from Maxey, Eric Gordon and Justin Edwards.
In the second quarter, Cleveland hit six 3s on its way to outscoring the Sixers 34–25 and going into halftime with a 67–64 lead. The score was close, but would the Cavaliers come roaring back to assert itself in the second half, as they have so often this season?
With George and Oubre leading the way, that didn’t happen. George scored 14 in the third quarter, while Oubre added nine and Philadelphia ended the third with a 98–96 lead.
Despite a disappointing season thus far, the Sixers fans could sense a win was within reach and were loud throughout the fourth quarter, even with Cleveland took a 116–110 lead with six minutes remaining on a Ty Jerome 3-pointer. But Philadelphia rallied to score the next seven points, taking the lead on a 3 by Gordon (who went 4-for-4 from behind the arc).
From there, the Sixers didn’t give up the lead and built up an eight-point margin with less than two minutes remaining. The Cavs got to within one, 127–126, on another 3 from Jerome but Maxey put the game away with four free throws. Donovan Mitchell hit one more 3 to give Cleveland a chance at a tie or win, but Edwards’ free throw with 1.1 seconds left gave Philadelphia the win.
Mitchell finished with 37 points and seven assists, while Jerome scored 33 off the bench for the Cavs, who dropped to 36–8. Darius Garland added 26 points with another seven assists. But Evan Mobley missed his second consecutive game with a right calf strain and Jarrett Allen scored only eight despite an apparent mismatch against Yabusele.
The 76ers improved to 16–27, but still have to climb to get into play-in consideration with the No. 11 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Both teams have to play the second part of a back-to-back on Saturday. Cleveland hosts the Houston Rockets (29–14) while Philadelphia visit the Chicago Bulls (19–26, two games ahead of the Sixers).