Philadelphia 76ers 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 106

The Philadelphia 76ers spent most of Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena looking beaten. The Cleveland Cavaliers built a lead as large as 29 and took a 69-45 edge into halftime. Philadelphia then won the second half 69-37 and the game 114-106.

What decided it was the reversal after the break. Cleveland scored 35 and 34 in the first two quarters, then 21 and 16 in the last two. Tyrese Maxey finished with 32 points and Philadelphia's biggest lead of the night, 9, came only once the comeback was complete.

How it was won

The first quarter set the tone the wrong way. Cleveland outscored Philadelphia 35-18, and the gap kept growing through a 34-27 second quarter.

The third quarter is where it turned. Philadelphia scored 37 to Cleveland's 21, cutting a 24-point halftime deficit to 90-82 going into the fourth. The Sixers finished it with a 32-16 final quarter.

The box score explains the swing better than the shooting does. The teams were almost identical from the floor: Philadelphia 42-92 (46%), Cleveland 39-87 (45%). Both made exactly seven threes, Philadelphia on 28 attempts and Cleveland on 29. The difference came in ball security and the small margins around it.

• Turnovers: Cleveland gave it away 21 times to Philadelphia's 17.
• Free throws: Philadelphia went 23-30, Cleveland 21-28.
• Paint: Philadelphia scored 64 inside to Cleveland's 60.
• Assists: 24 for Philadelphia, 18 for Cleveland.

Maxey led everyone with 32 points and 6 assists, though he went 2-7 from three; most of his damage came going downhill. Joel Embiid added 24 points and 7 rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell matched Maxey with 32 points and added 10 rebounds. Evan Mobley had 18 points and 8 rebounds, and James Harden scored 16 with 5 assists, going 3-6 from deep. Cleveland won the glass 46-44, but it did not survive the turnovers.

Against the number

Philadelphia closed as a 2.5-point favorite, with the moneyline at -135 for the Sixers and +114 for Cleveland. An eight-point win covered with room to spare, though anyone holding Philadelphia at halftime was looking at a ticket that seemed lost.

The total closed at 237.5 and the game finished with 220 points, a comfortable under. The first half produced 114 points, which put the over in play, but the second half produced only 106 as Cleveland's offense stalled. Full prices and line movement are on the game page.

What's next

Philadelphia came into this game 2-0 and has since moved to 3-1. After beating Cleveland, the Sixers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 127-116, then lost 106-93 to the Detroit Pistons. Their next game is Wednesday, October 28, at the Indiana Pacers, on ESPN and DAZN IND.

Cleveland fell to 0-1 with the loss. The Cavaliers' next opponent was not part of our material; check their team page for the schedule. The concern for them is clear enough: a 29-point lead does not hold up with 21 turnovers and a 37-point second half.