Undermanned Cavaliers bring the fight, fall just short vs potent Sixers

Cleveland Cavaliers fall

The Cleveland Cavaliers fought valiantly but eventually fell short in a 112-108 nailbiter against the formidable Philadelphia 76ers. Continuing without their starting frontcourt duo proved too much for the Cavs after going toe-to-toe with one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Carrying a heavy burden in the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley has been recent two-way player signee Moses Brown, who finished with nine points and 12 rebounds but had almost no answer for the Sixers’ MVP candidate Joel Embiid’s monster performance of 44 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocked shots.

Leading five Cavaliers players to score in double figures is All-Star Darius Garland with 23 points, while Caris LeVert, and Lamar Stevens added 18 apiece. The third member of Cleveland’s Tower City frontcourt Lauri Markkanen also added 16 markers and seven boards in the loss.

The Cavs led by as much as 12 in the second quarter and remained competitive throughout, trailing by a solitary point with under a minute left in the game. The star power of the 76ers’ superstar duo of Embiid and James Harden, however, proved to be enough to thwart the young Cavaliers squad.

Play-in scenario becoming inevitable for the Cavs

Now 43-36, Cleveland remains in seventh in the Eastern Conference, two and a half games back from the final guaranteed playoff spot currently held by sixth-placers Toronto Raptors, who the team holds a head-to-head advantage in case of a forced tie.

For any hope of making it to the playoffs outright, the Cavs must hope the Raptors does not win two of their four upcoming games, while facing a daunting task of sweeping their own remaining assignments.

With matchups against the Orlando Magic, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Milwaukee Bucks looming, this remains open for the Cavs, but having to go through the play-in as a seventh or eight seed appears to be the more likely scenario.

The Cleveland Cavaliers winning on the road against the Orlando Magic on April 5 would be paramount for either schemes to play out, as the possibility of falling further to the dreared ninth or tenth play-in spot remains very much plausible.