By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers were riding high after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. They faced a game Cleveland Cavaliers squad that was looking to make a statement at the expense of Philly. Philly used third quarter offensive explosion to beat the Cavs 103-91.

The Sixers jumped on Cleveland from the opening tip-off. They hit their first couple of shots in the first quarter and rolled from there. They were led by Joel Embiid who scored 40-points, grabbed 14-rebounds, and had 10-assists. With that stat-line he became the first 76er since Wilt Chamberlain to accomplish a 40-10-10 performance in one game. The Cavaliers could do nothing to stop him. It did not matter who they put on him, he made them pay for daring to give him room to put a shot up. When they would try to double or triple-team him on defense he would find the open man. His playmaking continues to be a huge lift for this team. He has continued to find his teammates in their spots. Which has led to more space on the floor for him to operate. With the impending debut of James Harden (Possibly next week). The spacing will continue to get better for Embiid and the Sixers.

On Joel Embiid’s performance, “….What else can you say at this point, he’s phenomenal I try not to take playing with him for granted,” said 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.

Despite the offensive explosion from Embiid. Cleveland continued to fight throughout the game. They had a third quarter offensive explosion which shrunk Philly’s lead to two-points. They were led by their All-Star guard Darius Garland who scored 27-points and hit three three-pointers. The Sixers could do little to stop him, as he was hitting his shots from all over the floor. The Sixers put Matisse Thybulle on him to try to stop him. He made him work for his points and forced someone else to beat them. That was a prudent strategy for the Sixers as that allowed the Sixers to pull-away late in the game.

The Philadelphia 76ers will now prepare for another prime-time showdown with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. Philly will need another balance scoring night to keep up with the Celtics. They will also need to have another great defensive showing, on the perimeter to slowdown Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. If they want to get their 35^th win of the season.