CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Cavaliers tried but were unable to make it three straight over the Philadelphia 76ers this season.
The return of Kevin Love and Matthew Dellavedova to the floor wasn’t enough to overcome inconsistent and sloppy play in the second half from the Cavs that saw them commit a dozen turnovers and shoot just 14-38 over the final 24 minutes.
Led by 27 points from Shake Milton off the bench and 19 more from Seth Curry, the 76ers pulled away in the second half for a 114-94 win Thursday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“In the second half they outworked us,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They made shots. Shots didn’t fall for us. We didn’t have that same gas, that same fuel that we had in the first half and they took advantage of it.”
Ben Simmons and Dwight Howard combined for 28 rebounds for the 76ers. Howard scored 18 along with 15 boards off the bench in the win.
Love started strong accounting for 13 of the Cavs first 15 points on the night and he had 13 points through 12 minutes. He played 20 minutes total, just five of those in the second half, and was 4-10 from the field to go with four rebounds and three assists.
Dellavedova, who played for the first time since March 10, 2020, did not score in 16 minutes but he handed out five assists and had two rebounds.
“It was pretty fun to see K-Love and Delly back out there,” guard Collin Sexton said. “We’ve been missing those guys. Tonight was one of those nights where K-Love got it going early and we know what we can do once we get guys back.
“We haven’t had a full team all season.”
Sexton led Cleveland with 24 points while Dean Wade added 16 in the loss.
“We can’t have those mental lapses on defense. We can’t have mental lapses on offense and just pretty much, playing with purpose,” Sexton said of their second half woes against Philadelphia. “We know who we are. We know what we’re capable of. We want to have an identity of being tough and being a hard-nosed team and tonight we weren’t that at all.”
Isaiah Hartenstein, who hit a three at the buzzer to provide the final score, finished with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The first half alone saw the two teams combine to launch 42 threes and both were 8-21 in the half from beyond the arc.
Luckily six first half turnovers cost Cleveland just five points, but they held a 22-18 advantage in the paint through 24 minutes and trailed 58-56. The Cavs assisted on 19 of their 20 field goals made in the first half.
A total of 18 turnovers cost the Cavs 20 points and numerous opportunities to stay close on the scoreboard.
In the third quarter Cleveland went cold from downtown missing all five tries and they were 2-14 in the second half while the 76ers, who outscored the Cavs 27-17 in the third to take an 85-73 lead, hit 7-16 from deep over the final two quarters.
The Cavs, who assisted on 19 of 20 field goals in the first half, had just seven assists on 14 makes in the second half.
“They’re a good defensive team so give them credit, but I do think we missed some open shots,” Bickerstaff said.
