The Philadelphia 76ers erased a 29-point deficit and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 on Thursday night at Xfinity Arena, completing the largest comeback in franchise play-by-play history. The Cavaliers’ 29-point blown lead was the largest of the play-by-play era, and it was also the largest comeback of LeBron James‘ 24-year career.
The turnaround began when Tyrese Maxey caught a pass from James in transition and, without taking a dribble, drained a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 10 in the third quarter. The shot forced a Cavaliers timeout. Maxey walked toward the fans behind the scorers’ table and screamed as Jaylen Brown joined him in celebration, while Joel Embiid celebrated at the other end of the court. Maxey led all scorers with 32 points and added six assists.
A Rough Start
The Sixers entered the game two nights after a season-opening win over the reigning champion New York Knicks, but they were outclassed in nearly every phase to begin Thursday’s contest. They turned the ball over, couldn’t get stops and missed layups. Brown managed just four points in his lowest-scoring first half at home since March 2025. Philadelphia committed 15 first-half turnovers, its most in a half since January 2024.
The Cavaliers took a 69-45 halftime lead. That margin tied their largest lead in a season-opening half in franchise history and matched their largest halftime lead over the 76ers ever. As the first half ended, the crowd, most of them wearing white opening-night shirts printed with the Sixers roster and coach Nick Nurse‘s name, booed loudly.
Halftime Message and Defensive Adjustment
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 Sixers responded with a third quarter that Brown said “shifted the game.” They opened the half on an 8-0 run and outscored Cleveland 37-21 in the period, though they still trailed by eight entering the fourth. Philadelphia didn’t take the lead until the 6:54 mark, when Embiid hit a 16-foot jumper over center Jarrett Allen. The Sixers never gave it back.
Nurse said his team 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 just 0.56 points. Nurse changed the team’s defensive assignments, and the adjustment worked. Cleveland scored only 37 points after halftime. Guard Donovan Mitchell, who had 30 points through three quarters, managed just two points in the fourth, and those came after the game was out of reach. The Sixers committed only two second-half turnovers compared with 15 for the Cavaliers.
Players React
“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.”
Embiid credited a different kind of resilience. “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,” he said. He added: “Yeah, it was different. I said last game, after the game, it just feels different.” Embiid, now in his 11th season with the Sixers, called it a “top-three” night of his career.
James, however, cautioned against relying on comebacks like this one. “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.”
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe said the crowd produced the best atmosphere he has played in as a professional. James called Philadelphia “one of the best sports cities.” The boos that greeted the Sixers at halftime had turned into raucous cheers by the final minutes. “I’ve been here for a long time. … I have no words,” Embiid said. “That was amazing.”