By: Kylan Watson

After losing to the New York Knicks last night, the Philadelphia 76ers were back on the floor tonight facing the second place Cleveland Cavaliers who were looking to extend Philly’s misery. Both of these teams traded blows, but the Sixers were able to pull it out thanks to a 15 point fourth quarter explosion from Tyrese Maxey. That allowed Philly to pull this out 104-97 earning their second victory of the season over Cleveland.

Philly started this game off fast they hit their first few shots and had the Cavs on their heels early in the contest. Donovan Mitchell did not play in this game and the Sixers took full advantage of Cleveland being down their main scorer. Cam Payne scored 16 points and hit four/ six three-pointers in this game. His play helped the Sixers stay ahead of Cleveland throughout this game. He found the bottom of the net and made Cleveland pay attention to him instead of slacking off. His three-point efficiency was big for them tonight and if he can keep performing like he did in this game, Philly will have one of the deepest benches in the Embiid era. His shot and playmaking are big upgrades, for a bench that needs more playmakers to keep Tyrese Maxey fresh and ready for the playoffs.

Despite the three-point barrage from Payne this game was still very winnable for Cleveland. They did not give up and even retook the lead throughout the second half. The duo of Jarret Allen (24 points) and Darius Garland (20 points) kept the Cavaliers in this game. They combined for 44 of the Cavs 97 points. Both players took full advantage of the paint being open in the absence of Joel Embiid. The duo attacked the basket and got the Sixers big men mainly Paul Reed in foul trouble and that opened up the three-point line for the rest of their teammates. However, the Sixers turned the defensive heat up and it forced Cleveland’s players to take difficult shots, instead of the wide open high-percentage opportunities that they are used to taking. They could not make Philly pay for this strategy and they could not make enough shots to beat Philly in this contest. When the Sixers needed it the most Tyrese Maxey exploded in the fourth quarter, he scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and hit four pivotal free throws to put this game away for Philly.

On Sunday afternoon the Sixers will face-off with the third place Milwaukee Bucks. Another team with an explosive superstar duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Philly will need to make sure to stay attached to their defensive assignments if they want to force both players to take difficult shots instead of easy buckets to get going in the game. Additionally, the Sixers will need to keep their ball movement going and cash in on the high-percentage shot opportunities created off of it. Like they did in this contest and if Philly can implement these things into their game plan on Sunday afternoon. They can get their 34^th victory of the season and make another statement in the loaded Eastern Conference.