3 observations after Sixers drop back-and-forth battle to Cavs
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3 observations after Sixers drop back-and-forth battle to Cavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers fell just short Friday night of sending a back-and-forth battle with the Cavs to overtime.
Maxey missed a step-back three-point attempt over Max Strus on the game’s final shot and the Sixers suffered a 117-114 loss in Cleveland.
Kyle Lowry scored 23 points, his most since joining the Sixers. Tobias Harris posted 21.
Maxey had 16 points on 7-for-26 shooting and 11 assists.
Georges Niang was excellent off the Cavs’ bench, tallying a game-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Evan Mobley recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sixers were down Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus procedure), De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine bone stress) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise. Embiid is with the Sixers on this two-game road trip, which will conclude Sunday night against the Raptors.
The 45-29 Cavs were without Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Craig Porter Jr. and Ty Jerome.
Both the Pacers and Heat won Friday to gain ground on the 39-35, eighth-seeded Sixers.
Here are observations on the team’s loss to the Cavs:
Sixers stay tight despite Maxey’s early struggles
In under five minutes, Harris passed his season average for three-pointers attempted per game.
He showed no hesitation about shooting jumpers, firing four early threes and sinking two. Harris passed Andre Iguodala for fourth on the Sixers’ all-time made threes list Friday.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, it took a while for anyone else to hit a shot. Sixers other than Harris began 0 for 7 from the floor. After Cleveland opened the game sending regular blitzes at Maxey, the Sixers used their All-Star guard more off the ball and often had Harris initiate their Horns sets in the first quarter.
That approach didn’t get Maxey into his normal groove, but the Sixers still wiped out the Cavs’ lead late in the first. Paul Reed had a nice opening stint. He blocked former teammate Niang’s corner…
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