The 76ers (12-9) have a shot at their fourth consecutive victory Wednesday in Cleveland, visiting the Cavaliers (13-8).
The Cavaliers - having won five of their last seven - will look to bounce back from a 100-88 loss at Toronto Monday.
The Sixers’ hot streak continued Monday at home, hosting and beating the Atlanta Hawks, 104-101, in Joel Embiid’s return to the floor (left mid-foot sprain).
Embiid scored 30 in his return, including the team’s last 11 points, as the Sixers erased a 16-point deficit en route to victory.
“All throughout the game, we were saying, ‘just keep fighting,’” Tobias Harris (24 pts, 10 reb) said postgame. “We kept fighting throughout the whole night and we were able to create something towards the end of the game… We were able to just flow and do what we do to close out a good home victory.”
Postgame, Embiid commended his teammates for their strong play during his absence:
“I think lately they've been moving the ball, they've been making shots and then we've been playing good defense. So, I just wanted to come in and feed in to try and make sure that everybody keeps doing what they've been doing because they've been doing a great job.”
The Sixers have now won seven of their last nine, despite playing much of that stretch significantly shorthanded. James Harden (right foot tendon strain) and Tyrese Maxey (left foot fracture) remain out as the Sixers’ latest road trip gets underway.
The team will continue its three-game outing by visiting the Memphis Grizzlies (12-8) Friday and finish the journey against the Houston Rockets (5-15) Monday.
The Sixers beat the Cavaliers twice during the preseason, on Oct. 5, 113-112, and on Oct. 10, 113-97.
In Cleveland’s loss at Toronto Monday, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers in scoring, each scoring 18 points. Garland shared a team-high 10 assists and Mobley grabbed a team-best 15 rebounds.
In his first season in Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell leads the Cavaliers in scoring, averaging 28.9 points per game (8th in NBA), plus 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
The Cavaliers boast the third-best net rating in the NBA (5.8). Wednesday’s matchup features two of the NBA’s best defenses early this season, with the Sixers holding the no. 3 defensive rating in the league (108.1), and the Cavaliers holding no. 4 (108.2).
Wednesday’s matchup tips at 7:00 p.m. ET.
When You Last Saw Them
Joel Embiid
Tobias Harris
Shake Milton
76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks: Nov. 28, 2022
1 / 6PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 28: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers high fives Shake Milton #18 against the Atlanta Hawks at the Wells Fargo Center on November 28, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
@Sixers Social:
Quote to Note:
Tobias Harris on Joel Embiid’s return:
“He was great. His presence and his dominance is huge for our whole group and I thought he did a great job involving everybody in the game, seven assists is huge. His ability to take over games, especially in the fourth quarter, is big for us. He did awesome and we were excited to have him back.”