CLEVELAND, OH--- A back and forth game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Good Friday night that featured 27 lead changes and 8 ties would see the Cavs prevail with a 117-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs were without Caris LeVert and Craig Porter Jr, 2 key bench players, but they would see the return of Donovan Mitchell after the nose fracture, he would score 12 points and dish out 8 assists. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid as they have been for awhile, but they proved just how dangerous of a team they are even without their all star big man, battling with the Cavs all the way down to triple zeros.
This game was a roller-coaster, as I mentioned before we had 27 lead changes and 8 ties, luckily, the Cavs were incredible from 3 point range, especially if your name was Georges Niang. Niang would make 5 of his 8 3 pointers attempted and 6 of his 9 shots total, leading the Cavs with 25 points. Sam Merrill was also red hot, making 4 of his 8 attempts, finishing with 13 points. The Cavs as a team made 43% of their shots from deep. In the 3rd quarter, the 76ers would rally the troops and start to make things tough for the Cavs, going on a late run with a little over 3 minutes left in the 3rd, taking a 82-78 lead, but after an Isaac Okoro layup, Sam Merrill hit a 3 pointer to give the Cavs a 83-82 lead with 2 and a half to go till the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter would see lead change after lead change, the 76ers would take a 113-112 lead late thanks to a Tyrese Maxey jumper, not too long after Evan Mobley would hit the highlight of the night, a 3 pointer to give the Cavs a 115-113 lead late, just about blowing the roof off Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Jarrett Allen would also have a solid performance, his 37th double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds on a 6 for 9 shooting night, the Cavs will need games like this as they start a tough 5 game road trip in Denver Sunday afternoon at 3:30.