Sixers’ Historic Second-Half Comeback Started with Lockdown Defense: ‘That’s How You Handle Adversity’
Oct 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James (23) and Tyrese Maxey celebrate after a score against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
This home opener for the 76ers on Thursday night was one of the most anticipated in a very long time. Maybe ever. In the first half, the Sixers came out completely flat.
They played tight, forced passes into windows that weren’t there, and handed the Cleveland Cavaliers 15 turnovers before halftime, which turned into 22 Cleveland points. Outside of Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers shot 12-of-35. They didn’t attempt a free throw until halfway through the second quarter, not something you’d expect from a roster full of players with the reputation of living at the rim. They trailed by as much as 29 and by 24 at the break, 69-45, with the team leaving the floor to boos from the home crowd.
The turnovers were an issue in the preseason, when players chalked them up to sharing the ball too much. Two nights earlier in New York, the Sixers kept it simple and made quick reads. In the first half Thursday, they overthought everything, and it forced them into bad defensive positioning. Last season, the Sixers unraveled in situations like the first half put them in.
For VJ Edgecombe, who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals, the night came down to what the Sixers did when it was going badly.
“We stayed together, that was the main thing,” Edgecombe said postgame. “We could have let it got worse, we could have given up, but we didn’t.”
The turnaround started on defense, and for the second straight game it started at halftime. In this game, head coach Nick Nurse’s halftime adjustment started with rotating the entire defensive alignment. LeBron James slid onto center Jarrett Allen, Joel Embiid roamed off Peyton Watson, Jaylen Brown took Evan Mobley, Maxey picked up James Harden, and Edgecombe moved onto Donovan Mitchell.
“We said gotta come out and make a physical improvement, and an effort improvement, and see where it takes us,” Nurse said. “I think we just kept extra hard on defense, they just didn’t get a whole lot of great looks.”
The Sixers opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run, forcing two quick turnovers which jump-started the transition offense. They forced eight Cavs turnovers in the third quarter and outscored them 37-21. James and Maxey pushed the pace no matter the outcome, which flustered Cleveland. Brown finished a fast break off an Edgecombe steal, the moment the momentum shifted, and Maxey followed with a layup and a three that forced a Cleveland timeout. The Sixers were active on defense and moving their feet in the second half, which led to turnovers, and the ball went back the other way within three passes.
“We’ve just gotta go out there and fight,” Edgecombe said. “We’ve gotta want it; it’s an early season test. Early season adversity, and we overcame it.”
The Cavs did put up a fight at the end of the third period and took a 90-82 lead into the fourth. Midway through the fourth, Embiid answered with seven straight points to give the Sixers their first lead of the night, 96-95. Shortly after the Sixers took the lead, Maxey got into an altercation with former teammate Harden, who had been booed all night, finished with 16 points, but concluded with six very costly turnovers, leading the Cavs, who had 18 in the second half.
Brown had said in training camp that how a team handles adversity determines what kind of team it is, and he had struggled early in this game, but ended the game very strong as Cleveland mounted a comeback in the final two minutes. He scored six in a row in the paint to make it 102-95 and finished with 21 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter.
“That’s how you handle adversity,” Brown said.
The defense that started the comeback also ended it. With 44 seconds left, James stole the ball and passed ahead to Edgecombe, who found Brown for a layup and an eight-point lead. It was the Sixers’ largest comeback in the play-by-play era, which dates to 1996-97, and the largest of James’ career.
“We’ll be all right,” Brown said, “that’s a good sign.”
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible; we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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