76ers Blown Out In First Of Back-To-Back Home Meetings Against Cavaliers
Jan 14, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) knocks the ball away from Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
It was an unpleasant return to Xfinity Mobile Arena for the Philadelphia 76ers.
After picking up two of three wins on their road trip, the 76ers returned home to Philadelphia for the first of two matchups with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite the Cavs being losers of three of their last five, Cleveland dominated this one from start to finish, stretching their lead to as high as 30 in the 133-107 win.
Donovan Mitchell, who scored 46 points in the team’s first matchup of the season, dominated once again, dropping 35 points, as well as seven rebounds and nine assists. All five starters for Cleveland scored at least 10 points, while four players scored over 17.
As for the 76ers, the three-point shooting struggled as the team shot 12-for-43 (28%) from three. Joel Embiid finished with a team-high 20 points while Paul George added 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Cavaliers came out firing in the first quarter, dropping 33 points with Darius Garland and Philadelphia native De’Andre Hunter both drilling two threes. The two teams went back and forth throughout the first three minutes of action, and in those first few minutes of action, 76ers center Joel Embiid knocked down a three-pointer, which crossed him over the 13,000-point mark in his NBA career. He’s the seventh player in franchise history to score 13,000 points as a 76er.
Cleveland eventually jumped out in front thanks to a 10-0 scoring run, and increased that lead to 15 after the first 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the 76ers began to chip away at the Cavaliers’ lead, with George hitting back-to-back three-pointers and Trendon Watford adding a triple as well. However, every time the 76ers began gaining traction, Cleveland would go on a run of their own. It was Garland, Evan Mobley, and Lonzo Ball who each knocked down a three-pointer of their own to keep the lead to double digits.
After a timeout from Nick Nurse midway through the quarter, Embiid got another run going with a midrange bucket, and Tyrese Maxey added a three. The 76ers’ next eight points all came from Embiid over free throws and layups, with the final points cutting the 76ers deficit to six points.
Up 53-47 with two minutes until the half, the Cavaliers got a scoring run of their own, with Mobley hitting a pair of paint shots and Hunter adding another three to make it 60-47 Cleveland after the first half.
Out of the halftime break, Cleveland, and more specifically Donovan Mitchell, came out hot. After one point from a Jaylon Tyson free throw, Mitchell went on a 10-0 run of his own, extending the Cavaliers’ lead to 18. The lead grew to 22 after Garland added four points, but the 76ers once again began chipping back at the deficit with Maxey, Embiid, and Quentin Grimes all drilling threes.
The 76ers managed to get the game back down to 11 points, but after a timeout from Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland put their foot on the gas and ran away with the game. Mitchell continued his impressive third quarter, adding 10 more points in the final four minutes of the third quarter to put Cleveland up 93-75 after the third quarter.
In the final 12 minutes of action, Cleveland continued to pull away. Mitchell added onto his impressive night, adding seven more points, while Tyson drilled three three-pointers, extending their lead to 30, forcing Nick Nurse to start emptying his bench. The final minutes eventually ticked down as Atkinson began emptying his bench, as Cleveland finished off the 76ers, winning 133-107.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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