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Before Last Night, the Sixers Were 0-156 While Down by 29 or More Points in a Regular Season Game
By Sean Barnard
Published:
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a 2-0 start in about as thrilling a fashion as possible. After spoiling ring night for the defending-champion New York Knicks, the Sixers raised the bar further with a historic come-from-behind victory in the home opener.
Plenty of pomp and circumstance surrounded LeBron James’ home debut. The intensity shined through the screen, with the atmosphere far surpassing plenty of NBA postseason games in this Tuesday night matchup.
Along with this, there was a tightness and awkwardness to the Sixers’ approach in the early minutes of the game. Philadelphia coughed the ball up five times in the first 10 minutes and 15 times in the first half overall, which resulted in 22 Cleveland points off turnovers. As talented as the roster is, there will be some expected growing pains as this star-studded roster learns to play with each other. This especially stood out against a Cavaliers team that has largely kept the same core for the past few seasons and knows their exact identity. Every NBA team will have their full focus on bringing their best effort whenever they suit up against this Sixers roster, and this was put on display in the season opener for the Eastern Conference finalists.
The Cavaliers took a 69-45 lead into halftime and extended their advantage to as many as 29. Cleveland punched Philadelphia in the mouth in the opening minutes and put the game at a deficit that seemed, and frankly should have been, out of reach.
Prior to last night, NBA teams had won 466 consecutive games with 29+ point leads in the regular season. Cleveland was 155-0 since 1996 when holding this level of advantage, while Philadelphia was 0-156 when facing this deficit over the same time period.
But everything changed in the second half for the Sixers. They immediately went on an 11-0 run to kick off the third quarter, in which they looked like a completely different team. Joel Embiid set the tone defensively, showing flashes of his All-NBA defensive self once again and allowing the rest of the defensive unit to flourish as a result. The Sixers had success jumping passing lanes, generating turnovers, and flipping defense into offense at a high rate. Energy was immediately injected back into the arena, not long after the team was showered with a chorus of boos.
After allowing 35 points in the first quarter and 34 in the second quarter, the Sixers held the Cavaliers to 37 total second half points and outscored them 69-37 across this stretch. Cleveland ended with 21 turnovers compared to the Sixers’ 17, meaning the Sixers won the turnover battle 15-2 in the second half. Philadelphia generated 19 points off these turnover opportunities in the second half alone:
But the Sixers still trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter and had to finish the job. The spark of energy was encouraging, but the results are still what mattered. When reflecting on the past decade-plus of Sixers basketball, so much of the outlook has been so dependent on Embiid to carry this team to wins. We have had countless debates over the on/off splits of a laundry list of backup center options, with some truly historic plus/minus figures being put on display.
In addition to ramping up his defensive effort, Embiid found his offensive rhythm in the second half. He scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting after being limited to nine points on 3-for-9 shooting in the first. His drop steps and pivots in the post were as sharp as they have felt in some time, and the Sixers made a clearer effort to get him the ball on the post at a rate which has not been the case in recent years.
After a flurry of made baskets in the final period, Embiid was subbed out of the game with 6:32 remaining with the Sixers holding a narrow 96-95 lead. He joined LeBron James on the bench, who was taken out with 8:24 remaining in the fourth. Both players returned with 3:32 remaining in the matchup with the Sixers holding a 104-97 advantage, meaning the Sixers were +6 without Embiid and +10 without James in the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Brown deserves a huge chunk of the credit for this, scoring six consecutive points immediately following Embiid going to the bench. Tyrese Maxey was also a tone-setter throughout the matchup, deserving the bulk of the credit for pushing the pace and leading the team in scoring for the second straight game with 32 points on 12-for-23 shooting in the matchup. A bit lost in the shuffle in all the off-season additions has been the way Maxey’s evolution into a true superstar has continued right in front of our eyes. It is extremely impressive how he has added to his skill set every single year he has been in the league, and he has earned a place in the conversation of Tier 1 NBA stars. Wherever you have his ceiling as a basketball player labeled, it is too low.
There are plenty of basketball takeaways to dive into from the victory in the home opener. But perhaps the most notable is the heart of this Sixers team. I can’t remember a time I have seen that level of fight from a Sixers’ roster when faced with that level of deficit. There was no rolling over in that game.
So often when these types of superteams fail, there is this vibe of believing they are talented enough that they can just show up and win because of the names of the roster. The opposite feels true of this current Sixers team. Each of these stars are showing the willingness to do the dirty work, defend at a high level, dive for loose balls, and hold each other accountable in the process.
Last night marked the biggest comeback victory of the Sixers in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97). The Sixers are also the first team in NBA history to overcome a 20+ point halftime deficit to come back and win in their home opener.
This is shaping up to be the start of a special basketball season, and the Sixers should be viewed as can’t-miss television every single night. Trust the Process and play the damn song.
Sean Barnard has covered the Philadelphia 76ers and general Philly Sports for over six years in a variety of roles and for multiple outlets. Currently works as a Content Writer for DraftKings Network, Sixers/NBA Insider for Philadelphia's Fox Sports the Gambler, and co-host of Sixers & Phillies Digest on Youtube. Forever Trusting the Process.