LeBron James, Ben Simmons Triple-Double as 76ers Hang On to Beat Cavaliers
The Philadelphia 76ers, without Joel Embiid, staved off the Cleveland Cavaliers' furious second-half rally and locked up a 132-130 win in front of a playoff-caliber crowd at Wells Fargo Center on Friday night.
The Sixers (49-30) now own a half-game lead on the Cavaliers for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and control their destiny with three games remaining. Cleveland (49-31), on the other hand, is down to a home-and-home with the New York Knicks and will need help to move out of the No. 4 seed.
Ben Simmons spearheaded the Sixers' 13th straight win behind his 12th triple-double of the season and finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals in a toe-to-toe showdown against LeBron James.
James, despite early struggles, erupted in the second half and posted a dueling triple-double—his 18th of the season—as he led all scorers with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 dimes.
However, he misfired at the charity stripe late and allowed the Sixers to escape with their most dramatic win of the season.
The four-time MVP made a trip to the free-throw line down three with 1.9 seconds remaining and had an opportunity to tie the game at 132 with a trio of looks following an ill-advised foul by Robert Covington. After calmly making the first, his second attempt rimmed out, and the Cavaliers' failed tip-in attempt on the ensuing intentional miss sent the Cavs packing.
The Cavaliers, though, had plenty to be proud of considering they trailed by 30 points late in the second quarter. The Sixers thrashed the league's 26th-ranked scoring defense with easy off-ball cuts and flurries of open threes throughout the first half.
James set the tone by upping his intensity level in a big way when he came out of the locker room, and he dropped 17 of Cleveland's 43 third-quarter points to close the gap to seven entering the final frame.
James kept his foot on the gas in the fourth quarter—just ask Ersan Ilyasova, who got put on a poster of epic proportions—but the defending Eastern Conference champs were never able to grab the lead from a Sixers team that calmly drilled all four of its free throws in the final 15 seconds.
All told, the Sixers boasted six double-figure scorers compared to Cleveland's three.
J.J. Redick led the way with a team-high 28 points (9-of-19 shooting), including seven over the final four minutes, to reinforce his status as a key cog of an offense that has grown by leaps and bounds this season.
Marco Belinelli added 23 points (6-of-12 from three) off the bench, while Markelle Fultz added 10 points, four assists and three boards in an encouraging 12-minute stint.
Jeff Green countered by dropping a season-high 33 points (10-of-12 shooting) one night after he went off for 21 in a come-from-behind win versus the Washington Wizards.
But with Kevin Love (17 points) a bit quiet and the Sixers a touch feistier on the offensive glass, Philly was able to overcome Embiid's absence and put itself in the driver's seat for the No. 3 seed.
Philly will now set its sights on showdowns against the Dallas Mavericks (Sunday), Atlanta Hawks (Tuesday) and Milwaukee Bucks (Wednesday) as it attempts to round out the regular season with 16 straight wins.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have to hope for a Sixers loss and defeat the Knicks on Monday and Wednesday if they want to regain the No. 3 seed.
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