The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers117-115 in the final seconds. An Evan Mobley dunk off a beautiful feed from Jaylon Tyson helped secure the victory.
The stats in the table below are from Cleaning the Glass.
| Effective Field Goal Percentage | Offensive Rebounding Percentage | Offensive Turnover Percentage | Free Throw Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavs | 62.5%, 88th percentile | 31.7%, 65th percentile | 18.6%, 18th percentile | 14.3, 16th percentile |
| 76ers | 53.8%, 47th percentile | 27.1%, 41st percentile | 11.2%, 81st percentile | 18.7, 38th percentile |
Now, let’s dive into the numbers.
- Jaylon Tyson’s career-high 39 points led Cleveland to the win. Tyson couldn’t miss as he went 13-17 from the field. He was the only Cavalier to score over 20 points.
- Tyson connected on 7-9 from threes. He is now hitting 45.8% of his threes on 4.1 attempts per game. This is up from shooting 34.5% from distance last season.
- Tyson finished the game with a 97.1 effective field goal percentage and a 99.3 true shooting percentage. That seems pretty good, yeah?
- All 13 of Tyson’s field-goal makes were assisted. Tyson’s ability to play within the offense has stood out this season. He’s done an excellent job of moving off the ball and attacking whenever he gets an opening to do so. Tyson did that brilliantly on Friday. Everything was within the flow of the offense, he wasn’t forcing anything, and he continually made the right offensive play, as evidenced by his game-winning assist to Mobley.
- Donovan Mitchell’s 13 points are his second-fewest in a game this season. He struggled to get into a scoring rhythm with the Sixers’ doubling him every chance they could. Mitchell finished the game shooting 4-13 from the field. This included going 0-4 on looks in the paint and not attempting a shot in the restricted area.
- The Cavs are now 2-7 when Mitchell scores 21 or fewer points. The Cavaliers have typically gone as Mitchell has from a scoring perspective. That’s why they’re 9-1 when he scores 35 or more. This game was a rare exception.
- Mitchell chipped in a season-high 12 assists. However, this was accompanied by six turnovers, which is the second most he’s had this season.
- Five of Donovan Mitchell’s 12 assists went to Tyson. The Sixers were blitzing Mitchell whenever they could, especially when they brought a screen his way. Mitchell used this to his advantage by getting Tyson involved. Tyson was able to make them pay as a scorer in the short roll and as a shooter out of these actions.
- The Cavs assisted on 38 of their 44 field goal makes. The ball has been moving around incredibly well the last couple of games. This performance was on the heels of 41 of the team’s 50 makes being assisted in Wednesday’s win.
- Cleveland turned it over 18 times. This was eight more giveaways than the Sixers. This led to the Sixers winning the points off turnovers battle 32-15.
- The Cavs had three players with four or more turnovers: Mitchell (6), Evan Mobley (4), and Jaylon Tyson (4).
- The Cavs are now 6-1 when they turn it over 18 or more times. This stat is a good reminder that correlation does not always equal causation.
- Joel Embiid scored 16 of his 33 points off long midrange jumpers. Jarrett Allen did a great job of keeping Embiid out of the paint on Wednesday. Instead of trying to get back there, Embiid took the midrange shots that Allen was giving him, going 8-15 on long twos. Allen could’ve been stronger with contesting those jumpers, but you’d rather limit him to taking a shot he makes 47% of the time instead of one he makes 64% of the time.
- The Cavs went 17-34 (50%) from three. This was the second time they’ve shot 50% or better from three in a game. They’re now 7-2 when they connect on more than 42% of their triples.
- Cleveland’s 34 three-point attempts were their fifth-fewest in a game this season. They’re also 7-2 when they take 35 or fewer threes.
- The Cavs held the Sixers to just 61.5% shooting at the rim (30th percentile). This wasn’t a great defensive game from Cleveland, but being able to defend the rim this well is a good sign that their defense was probably a little better than it seemed. The number of easy baskets off turnovers made it difficult to judge the Cavs on that end.
- Mobley had four blocks for the second straight game. The Cavs are 5-2 when he records four or more rejections in a game.
- Craig Porter Jr. tied a career high with 11 assists. He performed well filling in for Darius Garland in the starting lineup, who missed the game with a toe injury on his other foot. Porter turned it over only once and wasn’t part of the team’s problems with holding onto the ball.
- De’Andre Hunter and Porter led the team in plus/minus (+12). The Cavs played some of their best basketball with Hunter on the court. He provided 16 points and four assists on 7-13 shooting. This was Hunter’s second strong outing in a row.
- Six Cavaliers had double-digit points: Tyson (39), Hunter (16), Mobley (15), Mitchell (13), Tyrese Proctor (13), and Allen (10).
- The Cavs closed the game on a 13-4 run. They played their best basketball in the clutch, which allowed them to rally back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit. With the win, the Cavs are 9-14 in clutch situations (games that are within five points in the final five minutes).
