The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 on October 22 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, using a 69-point second half to stay unbeaten in the regular season.
Cleveland controlled the first half with 35 points in the first quarter and 34 in the second, taking a 69-45 lead into halftime. Philadelphia answered with 37 points in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth, holding the Cavaliers to 21 and 16 in those periods.
The result pushed Philadelphia to 2-0 and dropped Cleveland to 0-1. It also matched the pregame lean toward the 76ers, who carried a 56.7 percent implied win probability and a CourtFrame Power Index edge of 64.84 to 34.75, with Philadelphia ranked 10th and Cleveland ranked 20th.
Philadelphia’s second-half defense changed the game
The most important number in the game was Cleveland’s scoring split. The Cavaliers scored 69 points before halftime and 37 after it, a collapse that mirrored the pressure points Philadelphia had shown early in the season: activity, ball pressure and enough offensive balance to survive uneven stretches.
Cleveland finished with 21 turnovers, a damaging total in a game decided by eight points. Philadelphia had 10 steals, matching Cleveland’s total, but the 76ers turned the possession game more cleanly after halftime and finished with 17 turnovers.
The Cavaliers still won the rebounding category 46-44 and blocked seven shots to Philadelphia’s two, but those interior advantages did not offset the turnover gap or the second-half offensive drought. Cleveland’s 16-point fourth quarter left little margin once Philadelphia’s offense found rhythm.
Maxey-led profile held up despite a slow start
Philadelphia entered the night averaging 110 points through two games and scored 114, with its home scoring profile holding steady after a 114-point home result. The 76ers also came in averaging 26 assists, 9 steals, 6 blocks, 14.5 turnovers and 44.5 rebounds through two games.
The assist number was slightly lower against Cleveland, but Philadelphia still produced 24 assists, an important marker in a comeback that required more than isolation scoring. The 76ers also went 23-for-30 at the free-throw line, two more makes than Cleveland on two more attempts.
Tyrese Maxey entered averaging 30 points and 5.5 assists through two games, giving Philadelphia the primary creator Cleveland had to account for throughout the comeback. Jaylen Brown came in averaging 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Joel Embiid entered at 18.5 points and 9 rebounds. LeBron James added a pregame profile of 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6 assists, giving Philadelphia multiple pressure points even when the first-half offense stalled.
Cleveland’s spacing and ball security were not enough
Cleveland arrived after scoring 106 points in its opener, and it finished on that same number in Philadelphia. The issue was not the final total alone; it was how the Cavaliers got there. Their offense produced 69 points in the first half, then failed to sustain shot quality and possession control after halftime.
The Cavaliers shot 7-for-29 from 3-point range. Philadelphia was only marginally better by volume at 7-for-28, so the game did not swing on perimeter shot-making. It swung on Philadelphia’s ability to get to the line, generate assists and force Cleveland into empty possessions.
Donovan Mitchell entered as Cleveland’s central scorer after averaging 32 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in one game. Evan Mobley came in averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds, James Harden at 16 points and 5 assists, Jarrett Allen at 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Mario Hezonja at 10 points. Cleveland had enough top-end production on paper to build the early lead, but the offense became too fragile once the turnovers mounted.
Injury context mattered in the frontcourt
Philadelphia played with frontcourt depth concerns, with Dominick Barlow out because of a low back stress reaction, Tacko Fall out with a left quadriceps strain and Ariel Hukporti out because of a right Achilles tendon rupture/tear. Dean Wade was listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain.
Cleveland had its own availability questions. Khalifa Diop was out for left knee injury management, Nae'Qwan Tomlin was out with a low back stress reaction and Jarrett Allen was listed as questionable because of right patellar tendinopathy.
The Cavaliers still finished with the rebounding edge and a major block advantage, but Philadelphia’s smaller-margin wins in ball security, free throws and second-half execution mattered more than the raw frontcourt totals.
What the result says
Philadelphia’s 2-0 start now includes a home win in which it absorbed a 24-point halftime deficit and still reached 114 points. The 76ers did it without a major 3-point shooting edge and with only two blocks, which makes the defensive turnaround after halftime more notable.
Cleveland leaves at 0-1 after a game that should be defined by the final 24 minutes. The Cavaliers had 46 rebounds, 10 steals and seven blocks, but 21 turnovers and a 37-point second half erased the value of those advantages.
For Philadelphia, the win aligned with the pregame indicators: a stronger CourtFrame Power Index, home-court position and a deeper creation profile. For Cleveland, the extended rest did not translate into late-game control, and the Cavaliers’ first regular season result came down to a second-half offense that could not protect the lead it built.