The 76ers opened their first home game with LeBron James by spotting the Cavaliers a massive lead, then clawing all the way back to pull off a 114-106 win that could wind up as the NBA’s biggest comeback of the season.
Philadelphia was staring at a 29-point deficit after a rough start, but the new-look Sixers kept trimming it down over the second half and never let the game drift away. By the end, they had done more than survive a bad opening stretch - they had erased one of the largest holes the league has seen.
That 29-point rally ties for the 13th-largest comeback in NBA history across the regular season and playoffs. It puts the Sixers in some rare company, alongside comebacks like the Knicks’ 29-point NBA Finals rally against the Spurs.
For Philadelphia, it was the biggest comeback of the play-by-play era, which dates to 1997-98. It was also the club’s largest overall comeback since March 25, 1988, when it came back from 30 down against the Celtics. Cleveland, meanwhile, had never blown a lead that big before Thursday.
A 33-11 burst helped drag the Sixers back into striking distance and changed the feel of the night. After that, Philadelphia finally seized its first lead, and later put the game away for good.
On the stat sheet, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown all outscored James, but he still led the Sixers in rebounds and finished with three steals in his first home game against the Cavaliers as a member of Philadelphia.
In Other News...
Sixers Get A Huge Chance Against A Very Different Bucks Team
Milwaukee looks like a very different opponent than the one Philadelphia has spent years measuring itself against. After trading Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami and folding four former Heat players into the rotation, the Bucks are still figuring out who they are, even as those newcomers have provided more than half of the teams scoring through the first two games.
For the 76ers, that creates a matchup with a little less familiarity but plenty of opportunity. Philadelphia has leaned on strong second halves and a clear edge in paint scoring in recent games, while Milwaukee has been vulnerable on the defensive end, giving the Sixers a chance to test whether their late-game push can travel against a roster still trying to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Maxey Still Looks Like The Player Driving Everything For Philly
Through the first two games of the regular season, Nick Nurse has made it clear where the 76ers want the ball to go. Tyrese Maxey has been the engine of the offense, leading Philadelphia in scoring and shot attempts in both contests while carrying the teams highest usage rate.
Even with the kind of star power that usually reshapes game plans, Nurse has leaned on Maxey as the primary creator and scorer. For Philly, that is the bigger takeaway right now: the offense is still being driven through a player whose role has only grown as the season gets underway. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron's Early 76ers Absence Creates A Bigger Question For Philly
LeBron James will not be on the floor for the 76ers, with the decision tied to a planned workload management call made by the medical staff, front office and his camp. Nick Nurse made clear the absence is not injury-related, which shifts the focus away from health concerns and toward how Philadelphia adjusts against a short-handed opponent in a game that still carries plenty of interest.
For Philly, the bigger issue is less about who is out and more about who has to absorb the extra responsibility. Nurse said other players are expected to step up in James's absence, with Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown among the names who could be asked to carry more of the load, while Tacko Fall, Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti are also unavailable and Dean Wade was questionable before being cleared to play. [Read more 🡒]