18-point comeback spoiled by Garland, Cavs, Sixers Fall to 2-2 in In-Season Tournament

The Philadelphia 76ers clashed against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final game of the Sixers’ Group Play of the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament.

With the Pacers defeating the Hawks in their group play matchup tonight, the Sixers were in for a must-win matchup with the Cavs who were playing without their star guard Donovan Mitchell as well as shooting guards Ty Jerome and Caris Levert. Nevertheless, the Cavs were scoring at will for most of the game, putting up 44 points in the paint in the first half and really causing the Sixers trouble with their backdoor cutting and three-point shooting. Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland led the way and provided heavy problems for the home team, as the Sixers were unable to get into their rhythm until the late stages of the fourth quarter. The final minutes were a mad stretch that included a shot-clock beating banked in three by Garland to keep the Cavs in reach as well as a missed buzzer-beater by Joel Embiid which would have won the game.

With the game tied at 110 at the end of regulation, the first overtime for each team this season was needed to decide the outcome in what proved to be a back-and-forth final five minutes. Jarrett Allen provided a dunk with 18 seconds left which proved to be the game-winner, as Tyrese Maxey missed the go-ahead layup and the Sixers fell to the Cavs, 122-119. Here are my biggest keys from tonight’s game.

The Three Ball

The saying is true, “You live by the three, you die by the three.” Not sure who said that quote but they were completely right. The Sixers tonight shot 11-35 from three and many of those misses came in the fourth quarter when they were trying to dig back into the lead. Although they ended up making a few clutch threes, (most of them by Tobias Harris) many of the possessions came up with no points due to the fact we were launching threes multiple many times down the floor in a row. Tyrese Maxey and DeAnthony Melton shot 4-18 combined from downtown. That is not the secret ingredient to win games, and it showed tonight. This was the first game under Nick Nurse where I felt the offense looked disheveled for most of the game. The Sixers did come back from 18 down, but you are rarely supposed to win those games. Shooting under 32% from beyond the arc when trying to climb back is not the recipe for success.

Penetration by Garland

In the first half, Darius Garland was unstoppable against Nick Nurses’ defensive schemes, and the defense of our guards. Throughout the game, he provided Jarett Allen and Evan Mobley perfect alley-oop passes and also was cutting without the ball to the basket to create opportunities for his teammates and make the Sixers’ defense look like Swiss cheese. Joel Embiid and Nick Batum were in early foul trouble which proved vital for the game plan, as both men were not able to crash the boards and play physical defense as they were used to. Garland was tonight’s player of the game, finishing with 32 points, five rebounds and eight assists. He truly is the leader of this team without Donovan Mitchell on the floor and he proved it tonight.

The Sixers are now 2-2 in The In-Season tournament and will need a miracle to make the knockout stage. They fall to 10-4 on the season. Their next game is the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow in Minnesota against the Timberwolves at 8 PM.