The Philadelphia 76ers turned a brutal start into a night for the record books Thursday, erasing a 29-point hole and beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
What looked like a runaway by halftime became one of the most remarkable recoveries in NBA history. Cleveland went into the break ahead 69-45, with boos echoing through the building, and the Cavs’ early surge came in the 76ers’ home debut of LeBron James. But Philadelphia flipped the script after halftime, tightening up defensively and unleashing a comeback that changed the entire mood of the arena.
OptaSTATS captured the historic piece of it on X, formerly Twitter: “The Sixers are are the first team in NBA history to overcome a 20+ point halftime deficit to win their home opener,” the account posted.
Philadelphia’s second-half numbers tell the story. The 76ers held Cleveland to 37 points after the break and poured in 74 of their own, completely reversing the game and turning a lopsided deficit into a win. It was also the franchise’s largest comeback victory since the 1997-98 season, which also happens to be the year Cleveland lost after blowing its biggest lead in a single game.
Tyrese Maxey led the charge with 32 points and six assists, while Joel Embiid added 24 points and got one to drop late on a one-legged bank. James Brown contributed 21 points in his home debut for Philadelphia after arriving from the Boston Celtics by trade, and James finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Joel Embiid hits the one-legged fade over Jarrett Allen for 24 points 🔥
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 23, 2026
Sixers lead the Cavs by 6 with 2:11 left. pic.twitter.com/yy9CTjN03Z
The night also had its flashpoint early, when Maxey got into a shoving match with former Sixer James Harden. But by the final buzzer, the moment that mattered was Philadelphia’s surge from the brink to a win no team had pulled off before in its home opener.
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