The Philadelphia 76ers overturned a 29-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 on Thursday night, completing the largest comeback in franchise play-by-play history. It was also the largest comeback of LeBron James’ 24-year career, and the Cavaliers’ largest blown lead.
The turning point came in the third quarter. The crowd at Xfinity Arena watched the Sixers cut the deficit to 10 when Tyrese Maxey caught a pass from James in transition and, without taking a dribble, launched a 3-pointer. As the ball went through the net, forcing the Cavaliers to call a timeout, Maxey walked toward the fans behind the scorers’ table and screamed, with Jaylen Brown flanking him in celebration and Joel Embiid celebrating at the other end of the court.
Maxey led all scorers with 32 points and added six assists. On a team laden with stars, he was the conductor of a raucous home crowd that followed his lead all night.
“It was just a great moment,” Maxey said. “The crowd was into the game. We were just feeding off the crowd, feeding off our energy, feeding off our resilience.”
A dismal first half
Two nights after their season-opening win over the reigning champion New York Knicks, the Sixers were outclassed in nearly every way to begin the game. They turned the ball over, could not get stops and missed layups. Brown had just four points in his lowest-scoring first half at home since March 2025, while Philadelphia’s 15 first-half turnovers were its most in a half since January 2024.
The Cavaliers led 69-45 at halftime. That tied their largest lead in a season-opening half in franchise history and matched their largest halftime lead over the 76ers in franchise history. As the first half ended, the crowd, most of them wearing the white opening night shirts printed with the Sixers roster and coach Nick Nurse, loudly booed.
Maxey said he challenged his teammates during the intermission.
“I said, ‘Well, it’s time to see what we made of. Are we going to be some front-runners and only be happy when stuff is good? Or when stuff is bad, are we going to fight and be resilient?’ And we did that,” Maxey said.
The comeback
The Sixers responded with a third quarter that Brown said “shifted the game”. They came out of the break on an 8-0 run and outscored Cleveland 37-21 in the period. Even so, they went into the fourth quarter trailing by eight. They did not take the lead until the 6:54 mark, when Embiid hit a 16-foot jump shot over centre Jarrett Allen that gave Philadelphia a lead it would not relinquish.
Nurse said his side had also struggled to defend the Cavaliers’ mid-pick-and-roll plays in the first half. According to GeniusIQ, Cleveland ran 27 direct picks in the first half and averaged 1.08 points on them. In the second half, the Cavaliers ran 20 direct picks and averaged only 0.56 points. Nurse shifted the team’s defensive assignments, and it worked. The Cavaliers scored just 37 points in the second half. Guard Donovan Mitchell, who had 30 points through three quarters, was held to two points in the fourth, both scored when the game was already out of reach.
The Sixers turned the ball over only twice in the second half, compared with 15 times for the Cavaliers.
“They were just way, way, way tougher than us in the first half,” Maxey said. “They were just punking us honestly, and we did a good job of playing back second.”
Reaction
Embiid said the team’s resilience was different from that of past Sixers sides he had played for during his 11-year career with the franchise.
“No shade to anybody that’s been here, but in the past, a lot of people would’ve just laid down and tried to move on to the next one,” Embiid said. He added: “Yeah, it was different. I said last game, after the game, it just feels different.”
James, however, cautioned against relying on such nights.
“You don’t want to rely on that,” James said, laughing. “I think it’s great to know deep down we’re not going to have that quit mentality … but you don’t want to put yourself in too many of those situations.”
During the comeback, the crowd’s boos turned into raucous cheers. Embiid called it a “top-three” night of his career, while guard VJ Edgecombe said it was the best atmosphere he had played in as a professional. James described Philadelphia as “one of the best sports cities”.
“I’ve been here for a long time. … I have no words,” Embiid said. “That was amazing.”