After two major victories over the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers returned to their home court on Friday night to face the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time this season.
A few weeks ago, when the Sixers hosted the Cavs, Joel Embiid's 40-point effort let Philadelphia come to an impressive victory.
As expected, the Cavaliers were out for revenge on Friday, and they were a handful for the Sixers right out of the gate.
In the first quarter, Cleveland shot about 75 percent from the field and 80 percent from three. The Sixers, playing passive on the defense, could not keep up with the Cavs as they were dismissed 43-30 in the first quarter of the action.
By the time the second quarter rolled, the Cavaliers were back on the ground on the offensive. Meanwhile, the Sixers picked up the Slack with a little help from Tobias Harris and Shaq Milton. As the Giants combined for 17 points, he helped the Sixers oust the Cavaliers 33-28 before going into halftime.
While Philadelphia found themselves scratched out and back in the game after a groundbreaking start in the night, they were still trailing 71-63.
In the end, the Sixers managed to take their first lead in the third quarter. Thanks to a performance of 14 points in the nine-minute shift from Tyrese Maxi, the second-year guard helped the Sixers bounce back in the second half for the second straight game.
However, the Sixers were looking to take Friday's game to the wire. Going into the final quarter, they were left behind by two points.
In fourth, the combination of Maxi and James Harden was too much for Cleveland to handle. As the two stars collected 19 of Philly's 28 points, they helped the Sixers complete an impressive 125-119 win over the Cavaliers.
Once again, Philadelphia's star trio of Maxi, Embiid and Harden scored more than 20 points with Maxie for the first time since their January 31 matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In addition to early contributions, the Sixers also received significant boosts off the bench from Sheik Milton (11 points) and Georges Niang (17 points).
With that win, the Sixers moved up to 39–23 in the season as they secured their fifth-straight win. Now, they are set to face the Miami Heat on a second night of back-to-back Saturdays as they take to South Beach after Friday's big win.