Philadelphia 76ers 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 106 | October 22, 2026
The Philadelphia 76ers looked completely finished at halftime. Down 24 points, struggling to make shots, turning the ball over and offering little resistance defensively, there was almost nothing positive to take from their opening 24 minutes.
Then everything changed.
Philadelphia outscored Cleveland 69–37 in the second half, completing an incredible comeback to defeat the Cavaliers 114–106 and improve to 2–0.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 32 points, Joel Embiid added 24, and Jaylen Brown delivered several enormous fourth-quarter baskets to finish with 21.
Donovan Mitchell’s 32-point, 10-rebound performance wasn’t enough to prevent Cleveland from falling to 0–1.
First Quarter: Cleveland Takes Control
Cavaliers 35, 76ers 18
Philadelphia couldn’t have asked for a much worse start.
Cleveland immediately established itself offensively, attacking the paint and capitalizing on Philadelphia’s defensive mistakes.
Meanwhile, the 76ers struggled to generate consistent offense.
LeBron James provided an early highlight with a beautiful bounce pass to VJ Edgecombe, but those moments were few and far between.
Philadelphia’s perimeter shooting was particularly concerning. After struggling from three-point range against the Knicks in their previous game, the 76ers carried those same problems into this matchup.
Instead of attacking the basket, Philadelphia repeatedly settled for difficult jump shots.
By the end of the quarter, Cleveland had built a commanding 17-point advantage.
Second Quarter: Philadelphia Falls Further Behind
Halftime: Cavaliers 69, 76ers 45
Things only got worse for Philadelphia.
The Cavaliers scored another 34 points, taking advantage of poor defense and careless turnovers.
By halftime, Philadelphia had committed 11 turnovers compared with Cleveland’s three. The Cavaliers had scored 17 points off turnovers, while the 76ers had scored none.
Philadelphia also hadn’t attempted a single free throw, compared with 13 attempts for Cleveland.
That told the story of the first half.
The 76ers were settling for outside shots rather than attacking the basket, and Cleveland was making them pay.
Down 24 at halftime, Philadelphia needed a complete change in approach.
Third Quarter: The Comeback Begins
Cavaliers 90, 76ers 82
Whatever Nick Nurse told his team at halftime worked.
Philadelphia came out looking completely different.
The 76ers began attacking the paint, moving the basketball and playing with much greater defensive intensity.
Maxey was instrumental in the turnaround, scoring seven consecutive points to help Philadelphia cut into Cleveland’s advantage.
Another crucial moment came when Adem Bona delivered a defensive block, allowing Maxey to break away for a layup that brought the 76ers within two.
Philadelphia also did a much better job protecting the basketball, eliminating many of the mistakes that had plagued its first half.
The 76ers outscored Cleveland 37–21 in the quarter.
However, Philadelphia’s offense went cold over the final 90 seconds, allowing Cleveland to maintain an eight-point advantage entering the fourth.
The comeback was within reach, but the job wasn’t finished.
Fourth Quarter: Embiid and Brown Take Over
Final: 76ers 114, Cavaliers 106
Cleveland initially maintained its advantage, leading 95–89 with approximately eight and a half minutes remaining.
Philadelphia briefly returned to its bad habit of settling for three-pointers despite shooting just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc at that stage.
Then Joel Embiid took over.
The center scored seven consecutive points, including a floater over James Harden and a jumper that helped Philadelphia take its first lead of the night.
After trailing by 24 at halftime, the 76ers were finally ahead.
Nurse substituted Embiid shortly after his scoring burst, a questionable decision considering the momentum he had generated.
Fortunately, Brown was ready.
He scored six consecutive points of his own, extending the combined Embiid-Brown surge to 13 unanswered points and giving Philadelphia a 102–95 advantage.
The 76ers had completely flipped the game.
There was also a crucial defensive sequence involving Embiid. He appeared to get all ball on a play initially ruled a foul, prompting Nurse to challenge the decision.
The challenge was successful, overturning the foul call and giving Philadelphia another important moment in the closing stretch.
With approximately one minute remaining, Philadelphia led 106–102.
James missed a jumper that could have helped seal the game, but Edgecombe secured the rebound and appeared to draw contact.
Mitchell then missed two crucial free throws, severely damaging Cleveland’s chances.
Brown delivered the finishing blows.
He drove to the basket for a dagger layup, extending Philadelphia’s lead to 110–102 with 44 seconds remaining.
Then came an emphatic dunk to put an exclamation point on the comeback.
Philadelphia had done the unthinkable.
Key Performers
Philadelphia 76ers
- Tyrese Maxey: 32 points, 6 assists
- Joel Embiid: 24 points, 7 rebounds
- Jaylen Brown: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
- LeBron James: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
- VJ Edgecombe: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Donovan Mitchell: 32 points, 10 rebounds
- Evan Mobley: 18 points, 8 rebounds
- James Harden: 16 points, 5 assists
- Jarrett Allen: 14 points, 7 rebounds
EST Takeaways
1. Philadelphia Must Stop Settling for Three-Pointers
The 76ers finished just 7-of-28 from beyond the arc, shooting 25%.
After another poor perimeter performance against New York, this is becoming an early concern.
Philadelphia has too much talent attacking the basket to continually settle for difficult outside shots.
The difference was obvious in the second half. When the 76ers attacked the paint, they created better opportunities, drew fouls and forced Cleveland to defend.
Philadelphia finished with 64 points in the paint.
The 76ers don’t need to abandon three-point shooting, but they must recognize when it’s time to attack inside.
2. Embiid and Brown Were Outstanding in the Fourth
Embiid’s seven consecutive points sparked Philadelphia’s decisive comeback, while Brown immediately followed with six straight of his own.
Together, they completely shifted the momentum.
Embiid finished with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Brown scored 21 on 10-of-20.
Brown’s dagger layup and emphatic dunk were the perfect ending to an incredible fourth quarter.
When Philadelphia needed its stars, they delivered.
3. Cleveland’s Collapse Was Unacceptable
The Cavaliers scored 69 points in the first half and just 37 in the second.
That’s a staggering difference.
Cleveland’s offense lost its rhythm, its defense struggled to contain Philadelphia’s drives, and the turnovers became increasingly costly.
The Cavaliers finished with 21 turnovers compared with Philadelphia’s 17.
Mitchell was excellent for much of the night, but his two missed free throws in the closing minute were costly.
A team with Cleveland’s talent cannot afford to surrender a 24-point halftime lead.
4. LeBron Contributed Beyond Scoring
James finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Although he shot just 5-of-14 from the field, his rebounding and playmaking remained valuable.
He also connected on his first three-pointer at Philadelphia’s home arena.
There was an unusual moment when James accidentally elbowed Edgecombe in the nose, leaving the rookie bleeding.
Edgecombe continued playing and contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Philadelphia’s ability to win without James dominating the scoring column demonstrates the talent throughout its starting lineup.
5. Philadelphia’s Defense Won the Game
The offensive comeback was impressive, but the defensive turnaround was just as important.
Cleveland scored 35 points in the first quarter and 34 in the second.
Philadelphia then held the Cavaliers to 21 points in the third and just 16 in the fourth.
The 76ers also finished with 24 assists compared with Cleveland’s 18, reflecting their improved ball movement.
The second-half defensive effort transformed what looked like a blowout into a remarkable victory.
Final Thoughts
Philadelphia improves to 2–0, but this victory should serve as both a celebration and a warning.
The second-half performance was outstanding. Maxey led the scoring, Embiid sparked the comeback, Brown closed the game, and James contributed across the board.
However, Philadelphia cannot expect to recover from starts like this every night.
The perimeter shooting needs improvement, the early defensive effort must be better, and the team needs to establish its interior offense sooner.
For Cleveland, this was a game that should never have slipped away.
The Cavaliers controlled the opening half, built an enormous lead and still lost by eight.
Final Score: Philadelphia 76ers 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 106.
Down 24 at halftime. A 69–37 second-half advantage. One unforgettable comeback in Philadelphia.
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