The Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 29-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 on Thursday night at Xfinity Arena. The Sixers cut the deficit to 10 in the third quarter, and Tyrese Maxey sparked the turnaround with a 3-pointer that he launched without taking a dribble after catching a pass from LeBron James in transition. The shot forced the Cavaliers to call a timeout.
Maxey walked toward the fans behind the scorers’ table and screamed as Jaylen Brown flanked him in celebration. Joel Embiid celebrated on the other end of the court. Maxey led all scorers with 32 points and added six assists, and the crowd followed his lead all night.
The 29-point comeback was the largest blown lead in Cavaliers history and the largest comeback in the Sixers’ play-by-play era. It was also the largest comeback of James’ 24-year career.
A Rough Start Turns Around
Two nights after opening the season with a win over the reigning champion New York Knicks, the Sixers looked outclassed from the opening tip. They turned the ball over, failed to get stops and missed layups. Brown scored just four points in his lowest-scoring first half at home since March 2025. The Sixers committed 15 first-half turnovers, their most in a half since January 2024.
The Cavaliers took a 69-45 halftime lead, which tied their largest lead in a season-opening half in franchise history and matched their largest halftime lead over the 76ers in franchise history. Most fans wore white opening-night shirts printed with the Sixers roster and coach Nick Nurse’s name, and they booed loudly as the first half ended.
Maxey said he challenged his teammates during the intermission. “I said, ‘Well, it’s time to see what we made of. Are we going to be some front-runners and only be happy when stuff is good? Or when stuff is bad, are we going to fight and be resilient?’ And we did that,” Maxey said.
The Sixers answered with an 8-0 run to open the third quarter and outscored Cleveland 37-21 in that period. Brown said the quarter “shifted the game.” Philadelphia still entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight. The Sixers took the lead at the 6:54 mark, when Embiid hit a 16-foot jumper over center Jarrett Allen, and they never relinquished it.
Defensive Adjustments and Reactions
Nurse said his team struggled to defend the Cavaliers’ mid-pick-and-roll plays in the first half. According to GeniusIQ, Cleveland ran 27 direct picks in the first half and averaged 1.08 points on them. In the second half, the Cavaliers ran 20 direct picks and averaged just 0.56 points. Nurse shifted the defensive assignments, and the change worked. The Sixers committed only two turnovers in the second half, compared with 15 for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers scored just 37 points after halftime. Donovan Mitchell, who had 30 points through three quarters, managed only two points in the fourth, and those came after the game was out of reach.
Maxey pointed to the first half as the problem. “They were just way, way, way tougher than us in the first half,” Maxey said. “They were just punking us honestly, and we did a good job of playing back second.”
James cautioned that Philadelphia cannot count on comebacks like this one. “You don’t want to rely on that,” James said, laughing. “I think it’s great to know deep down we’re not going to have that quit mentality … but you don’t want to put yourself in too many of those situations.”
Embiid said the resilience reminded him of nothing he had seen during his 11-year Sixers career. “No shade to anybody that’s been here, but in the past, a lot of people would’ve just laid down and tried to move on to the next one,” Embiid said. He added: “Yeah, it was different. I said last game, after the game, it just feels different.”
The crowd’s boos turned into loud cheers as the comeback unfolded. Embiid called it a “top-three” night of his career. Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe said it was the best atmosphere he has played in as a professional, and James called Philadelphia “one of the best sports cities.” “I’ve been here for a long time. … I have no words,” Embiid said. “That was amazing.”