By: Kylan Watson

After a tough loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers started a two-game road trip in Cleveland tonight desperate for a victory. Despite showing their toughness and making this a game later on, the Cavaliers made enough shots to beat Philly 117-114.

The Philadelphia 76ers once again found their offensive rhythm early in this contest, they found the bottom of the net. The trio of Kyle Lowry (25 points), Tobias Harris (23 points), and Tyrese Maxey (16 points) combined for 64 of Philly’s 114-points. Lowry in particular had his best night in a Sixers uniform, he scored 14 of his 25 in the second-half an aggressive Lowry is a great thing for the Sixers especially down Joel Embiid and De’Anthony Melton. Lowry has to be one of the best defensive players the Sixers have and take full advantage of his scoring ability which he did tonight, if he can do that more often that can pull the Sixers over the finish line during the last eight games of the season. Unfortunately for the Sixers, despite finding something late they did not get enough from Tyrese Maxey to win this game. He made a lay-up off of a Cavaliers turnover to put the Sixers back ahead but missed a go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth quarter. He has to be better and needs to be more aggressive picking his spots to attack the defense. Maxey only made seven/26 shots tonight and he got the most defensive attention from the Cavaliers, but he has to attack the basket and not just rely on his improving three-point shot. The Sixers will need more from him if they want to avoid the Play-In Tournament.

Despite the offensive explosion from the Sixers trio the Cavaliers were able to weather the storm and maintain their tight grip on the lead in this contest. The Sixers made it interesting and even retook the lead in the second half, but they never held onto it long enough. Cleveland would respond every time, Philly would hit a shot they would make one at their basket. Finally getting Donovan Mitchell back paid off for them, he had a quiet night only scoring 12 points. However, the defensive attention he drew allowed the Cavaliers shooters to do enough damage from the three-point line to keep them ahead of Philly. His passing ability created the game clinching three-point opportunity for Evan Mobley (20 points) who cashed in on it to help the Cavs win this game. That was the difference in this contest. The Sixers did not play good enough perimeter defense to stop the Cavaliers from hitting three-point baskets and that proved to be a devastating mistake as they cashed in on every wide-open opportunity. Georges Niang was a beneficiary of this as he made his old team pay for daring to give him space to hit a shot, making five/eight three-pointers and scoring 25 points. Playing defense, the way the Sixers did tonight will not help you win games especially when you need them for playoff position.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, they will need to play better perimeter defense than they did tonight. The Raptors are a team that is going through a rebuild but if they give them wide-open shots to gain their confidence it will be a long night for Philly. Additionally, they will have to cash in on high-percentage shots created off of their ball movement like they did in tonight’s game. The Sixers have finally been able to hit those shots and it has helped them stay competitive in their last few games. If they can combine better offensive play with improved play on the defensive side, they can get their 40^th victory of the season against the Raptors on Sunday.