Sixers Cannot Complete Comeback in Cleveland

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Cleveland 97, Philadelphia 84 – Box Score

In a game eerily reminiscent of Saturday’s contest in Atlanta, the Sixers fell to the Cavaliers is what’s becoming their signature three-act version of a Greek tragedy. It’s fitting there was a King on the court to oversee the proceedings. Act One sets the stage as our protagonists show they have to overcome difficulties early in life; the Sixers once again looked extremely sluggish in the first quarter with the Cavaliers jumping out to a sizable double-digit lead. Act Two involves the rise of the hero; the Sixers once again used a third quarter flurry of long range bombs to climb back into the game. Trailing by 20 points, the Sixers made 5 threes over a 4-minute period, eventually ending the quarter on a 26-10 run to pull within 4 points.

Unfortunately for Sixers fans, Act Three describes the inevitable fall; just as All-Star big man Al Horford doomed them in Atlanta, Brett Brown’s club had no answer for All-Star Kyrie Irving in the fourth quarter. Irving finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-16 shooting, with exactly half of those points coming in the final period. The only solace is unlike a fictional character in such a tragedy, the Sixers live to fight another day, presumably using these tough defeats to help their development going forward.

The Sixers were hurt by the absence of Michael Carter-Williams, who sat the final 20 minutes of the game with what was later reported to be a right shin contusion and left ankle sprain. The team was close to not playing MCW against Cleveland at all; he certainly looked off his game, shooting 1-9 for just 2 points. Still, he surely could have used his length to bother Irving defensively to greater effect in the fourth quarter than Larry Drew. It wasn’t the best outing for Drew, who was torched by the Cavs point guard while turning the ball over 4 times himself in an expanded role.

With Carter-Williams sidelined, the focal point of the offense shifted to Robert Covington, who was more than up to the task. Covington finished with 18 points on 6-13 shooting, including a 4-8 mark from three, also recording 7 steals on the night, diving on the floor for loose balls on multiple occasions. Showing no fear, Big Shot Bob was getting into a fun back-and-forth on both ends of the court with superstar LeBron James. On one possession, RC3 sized up LeBron before just pulling up to drain a three in the King’s face. He, Luc Mbah a Moute, and K.J. McDaniels all combined to do a fairly good job defending James, who shot just 6-17 and turned the ball over 6 times. He still put up 18 points and 11 assists because even an off night for him is a career night for some others, but you had to be satisfied with the Sixers’ effort on him.

The other bright spot for Philly was the continued revelation that is Jerami Grant. Grant tied Covington for team-high honors with 18 points, shooting 5-7 from the field, including 3-5 from three. The second-round pick is 8-11 from behind the arc over the last three games, and is shooting 47.4% on threes in 2015. Grant’s turnaround from being the worst shooting small forward at the draft combine to a legitimate threat from distance in the NBA is quickly becoming one of the best stories about the Sixers season. Hopefully, that trend continues and the Sixers manage to turn tonight’s act against the Nuggets into more comedy than tragedy.