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Cleveland Cavaliers fall to surging Philadelphia 76ers at home

By Justin Taguibao

CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 15: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter of the game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 15, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The 76ers defeated the Cavaliers 118-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 15: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter of the game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 15, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The 76ers defeated the Cavaliers 118-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers fail to find answers in stopping Joel Embiid and the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers at home to lose, 118-109. Even with an all-important win against the third-placed Sixers slipping away, the Cavs remain steady in fourth place in the East with a 44-28 record.

After completing a back-to-back sweep of the Charlotte Hornets just one night ago, the Cavaliers fought hard but had nearly zero solutions to help stop–or even just slow down–the perennial MVP candidate Embiid, especially with Jarrett Allen still out with an eye contusion.

Despite being able to build a 13-point lead early in the third quarter, Cleveland stagnated and allowed the visiting team to storm back and secure the win with a massive second-half effort. Embiid put up a monster double-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocked shots, while James Harden also had a field night with 28 markers and 12 assists in the Sixers win.

Meanwhile, the Cavs once again benefitted from a hot-shooting night from Caris LeVert, who led the tea with 24 points, as Donovan Mitchell returned to the lineup to add 21 points in the losing effort.

The Cavs should continue chasing homecourt advantage

Even after this loss pushed them back to four games behind the third-placed Philadephia squad, Cleveland should book not only a proper Playoff berth but also the homecourt advantage that comes with a top-four seed.

While they should continue to try and chase the Sixers, a deep postseason run will depend on their final seeding after the regular season, given how competitive the conference has become.

Memories of last year’s late-season collapse that led to crashing out after two play-in tournament losses against the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks should be enough fuel for the young team to secure every advantage they could get going into the postseason.

With only a 2.5-game lead over the New York Knicks in the standings, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to start another winning streak as the team stays back home to host the up-and-down Washington Wizards at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 17th.

Next. Could a healthy Dylan Windler provide the bench scoring?. dark

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