The Cavaliers hope to get weird endings like Thursday night’s out of the way in the preseason. Because if a young squad like the Sixers pulls out a win like that over the regular season Wine and Gold, it’s going to leave a mark.
Thursday night’s contest at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly featured exactly one lead-change – the one that saw Scotty Wilbekin (who saw just over two minutes of action) can a three-point shot (his only attempt of the night) after the Sixers erased a 12-point Cleveland lead in the final four minutes.
Wilbekin’s bomb with 1.9 to play gave Philly its only lead of the night, but it was good enough to send the Cavs to their second-straight preseason loss, a 115-114 stinger one night after their comeback fell short against the Hawks in Cincinnati.
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Cunningham drives the lane.
Watch final game highlights.
Of course, the Wine and Gold rested almost all of their starters – including LeBron James, Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith – and had Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert back in Cleveland. Even Anderson Varejao, after an impressive first half – 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting to go with three boards – was given the second stanza off as part of the Cavs’ body maintenance and management program.
With Cleveland’s stars watching on from the bench, the squad’s Training Camp invitees had their moment to shine – and they did just that, especially guard Jared Cunningham.
Cunningham – originally drafted (and traded that night) by the Cavaliers in 2012 – was virtually unstoppable on Thursday night. The 6-4 combo guard netted 21 of his game-high 31 points in the first half, going 8-of-10 from the floor – including 2-of-3 from long-distance – and 13-of-16 from the stripe, adding four boards and three helpers.
But Cunningham wasn’t the only non-contract guy to impress as the group vies for a coveted roster spot with the Cavs.
Austin Daye, who nearly shot the Cavaliers to the victory on Wednesday – hitting three fourth-quarter bombs – did a little of everything on Thursday, netting seven points, a team-high nine boards, four assists and a pair of blocks before fouling out. The high-flying D.J. Stephens went 5-for-9 to finish with 11 points and forward Nick Minnerath showed off a smooth shooting stroke, adding eight points on 3-for-5 shooting.
Behind Cunningham and Varejao, the Cavaliers jumped all over the young Sixers early – extending their lead to as large as 19 in the second quarter. The Sixers cut Cleveland’s lead to five in the third, but behind strong play by Cunningham, Daye and Matthew Dellavedova, closed the quarter on a 14-3 run.
The Cavs continued to cruise through the fourth quarter before Philly rallied in the closing moments. Jordan McRae’s two free throws with 10.6 to play got the Sixers to within a deuce. Jared Cunningham’s offensive foul on Cleveland’s next possession gave Philly the ball back with just enough time to send the Cavs packing.
The Cavaliers return home and get in a couple days of practice before traveling to Columbus for Monday night matchup against the Grizzlies at the Schottenstein Center. The next night, the Wine and Gold play their first official preseason game at The Q, welcoming the Bucks to town.