The Cavs get a freebie against a team that came in 9-20 on the road and Simmons out, then lost Embiid after he played only 8 minutes. Ante Zizic was the Cavs' MVP for getting Embiid out of there with a sprained shoulder after colliding with Big Z. That collision probably won them the game.
The Cavs did a nice job of withstanding the Sixers late run to cut a 20-point Cavs lead to 7. But the Cavs were able to do what they've had a hard time doing this year - close out a win. Sexton came up big with 11 points in the 4th quarter and 28 in the game. The Cavs were +18 with Collin on the floor which led the team. After missing out on the fun during the big comeback win over Miami I had a feeling Sexton would be agressive tonight and he was. Those four turnovers were not great but he more than made up for it with the 28 points, about 7 of which came down the stretch when the Cavs were trying to maintain their lead and put the game away.
The Cavs defense held the Sixers (sans Embiid and Simmons) to 94 points and 40.4% from the field. They also outrebounded the Sixers 49-32 and dominated the scoring in the paint. The only negative was the 18 turnovers, but since the league average is 14.5 that wasn't too bad.
Nance had another good game with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Kevin Love was off, hitting only 3 of 9 shots, but he had a key 3-pointer late and played solid defense and chipped in 9 boards and a team leading 6 assists.
I was impressed with Shake Milton, who had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists filling in for Ben Simmons. Not bad for a late 2nd round pick last year.
It was nice to see Delly get some court time, although it was only because Exum had a sprained ankle. Delly was a +3 in 25 minutes and went 5-for-5 from the field. Ante Zizic, in a rare sighting, stuffed the stat sheet with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in only 7 minutes. He also had a couple of fouls and turnovers, however.
Cavs have now won 4 of 5, but now we get some really good teams starting with a back-to-back against the Pelicans, who have won 8 of 12, and the Pacers (34-24) who have won 3 of 4. They got a break Monday with Jimmy Butler out for the Heat and again tonight with Embiid going down early.