By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
Cleveland 95, Philadelphia 85 – Box Score
Games like the one Sunday night help you understand why GM Sam Hinkie feels its so important to find that franchise-altering talent. It certainly looks like a lot of fun for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Sixers played very well most of the evening, and had the Cleveland lead down to just 2 with seven and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, that’s when LeBron James re-entered the game, and King James was not about to lose to the team with the worst record in the NBA. Suddenly, the Cavaliers sped out to a 14-0 run to put the game away, with LeBron scoring 12 of those points.
James would finish the game tying a season-high with 37 points, while adding 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. LeBron had one of those nights where he was hitting impossible shots, while also throwing down quite a few highlight-reel dunks (taking the time to thank his loyal fans in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center along the way).
LeBron reverse slam + fan high five https://t.co/OlumTSdy90
— Michael K-B (@therealmikekb) January 11, 2016
LeBron’s brilliance overshadowed what was a great game from Kevin Love. Love had a tremendous all-around performance, recording 15 points, 15 boards, and 7 assists. His only blemishes on the evening were the couple occasions he was absolutely stoned by the Nerlen Wall.
Ain't not love in the heart of the lane. (CSN) https://t.co/HOa6XmcS9l
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 11, 2016
Noel would finish with blocks in all, to go along with 12 points and 9 rebounds. While he was holding down the defensive end, Jahlil Okafor carried the Sixers for long stretches offensively. The rookie center dropped 21 points on 9-15 shooting, doing an excellent job of staying under control and finishing with short drives in the painted area. Meanwhile, Ish Smith was almost on triple-double watch with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists, although he looked much more out of control than usual, having 5 turnovers and just 7-21 shooting.
Despite the loss, this weekend has been a return to the ‘old’ Sixers, when they would lose close games against the better teams in the league. If they bring this same level of play when they get back to not playing upper-tier playoff teams every game, the Sixers will start picking up some wins again.
Other Game Notes
- We might have seen the end of Robert Covington’s slump Sunday night. Covington still wasn’t hitting his outside shot (1-5) from three, but looked much more sure of himself driving to the hoop, nicely feeding Nerlens Noel for a couple dunks (4 assists in all). RoCo also collected 8 rebounds and may have re-gained Brett Brown’s trust playing 32 minutes.
- For some reason, Richaun Holmes didn’t see the court for the second straight game. #FreeRichaunHolmes
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