Sixers beat Cavaliers, 114-106, after trailing by 29 points in wild home opener

Chris Hine, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 22, 2026

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PHILADELPHIA — Just before tipoff, LeBron James poured powder onto his hands, cameras gathered around and the crowd erupted as he did his trademark powder toss. Even after beating the Knicks two nights ago, that moment felt like an unofficial start of this season for the 76ers.

And, well, the Sixers came out and played — at first — as if that game Tuesday didn’t happen and they never played with each other. Then they played like the contenders they picture themselves to be in erasing all of a 29-point deficit on what turned out to be a wild night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

A delirious, standing crowd at the start went to booing by the second to delirious and on its feet again in the second half of a 114-106 Sixers win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a playoff-like atmosphere that included VJ Edgecombe getting a bloody nose, and a momentary tussle between former teammates Tyrese Maxey and James Harden in the fourth quarter, which caused the crowd to shower Harden with a not-for-print chant.

Maxey led the Sixers with 32 points as every starter scored double figures. Joel Embiid had 24, James produced 17 while Jaylen Brown came through with 10 of his 21 in the fourth. Edgecombe also chipped in 11.

Everyone plays a part

All the stars had a starring role at one point or another.

James and Maxey sparked the comeback with transition offense off Cleveland turnovers in the third quarter. That got the Sixers back in it. Then in the fourth quarter, when it seemed the Sixers just could never get all the way back, Embiid had seven straight points to give the Sixers their first lead of the game, 96-95.

Sixers guard Jaylen Brown dunks the basketball late during the fourth quarter against the Cavaliers Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Philadelphia. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

Brown had the biggest flourish of the night, as he found his way into the paint for six consecutive points of his own to build the Sixers lead to 102-95.

After Brown’s third straight bucket, the crowd reached its highest decibel level of the night, and he walked back down the court yelling as his teammates swarmed him.

Maxey and Brown then iced the win with a pair of layups with 44 seconds to play.

Defense, James, Maxey spark comeback

All comebacks start with good defense, and the Sixers didn’t waste any time out of halftime digging in on that end of the floor. They forced two quick turnovers on an 11-0 burst that brought them back into the game. In all, the Sixers forced Cleveland into eight third-quarter miscues and returned the favor after their miserable first half.

The Sixers then got out and ran, and then they ran some more. James had 10 points in the quarter while Maxey had nine and Jaylen Brown had another seven. The Sixers got within two, 84-82, before Cleveland scored the final six points of the quarter for a 90-82 lead entering the fourth.

The defense and transition offense seemed to feed off the crowd, while the Cavaliers couldn’t stop fouling; officials called them for 11 fouls in the quarter. James and Maxey took charge of the offense during that stretch, with the two of them pushing the ball up the floor every chance they got, make, miss or turnover.

Brutal start

Even with all the energy in the building, the Sixers came out flat, or perhaps all the emotion made them play a little tight.

The Cavs dominated the first quarter as the Sixers stumbled out of the blocks. They committed nine turnovers in the first quarter while hitting just eight field goals. The Cavaliers converted those nine turnovers into 13 points with Mitchell scoring 12.

The Cavaliers pressured the Sixers stars and made it hard for them to get the ball even on simple passes. That forced isolation offense for the likes of Brown, who was just 1-for-7 to open the night.

The Sixers couldn’t shrug off the unfamiliarity in the second quarter, which was also turnover-filled. They had another six turnovers, 15 for the half, and shot just 4-for-15 from three-point range for the first half.

Even with a new-look roster, the Sixers struggled with Cleveland’s size, something that has bothered them in the past, like last season, when Cleveland went 4-0 against the Sixers.

Evan Mobley had 15 points and six rebounds in the first half while Jarrett Allen had 14 points and five boards. With Joel Embiid’s injury history, and the loss of Ariel Hukporti to an Achilles injury in the preseason, one of the shallow spots on the roster is center.

Cleveland is one of the teams with the front line size to exploit that. Cleveland had eight offensive rebounds in the first half as the Cavaliers built their lead.

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