There’s no place like home! At least that’s how the Cleveland Cavaliers had to feel after they returned to the friendly confines of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday night.
After a rough shooting night north of the border in Toronto on Monday night at the Raptors, where Cleveland shot just 38 percent from the floor and an even worse 18 percent from three-point range, the Cavaliers were eager to put that game behind them.
Wednesday night was a different story for the Cavaliers on offense versus the Philadelphia 76ers. After shooting 55 percent from the field in the opening quarter, Cleveland took their offense to another level in the second quarter.
Cleveland shot an unreal 94 percent from the floor in the second quarter, connecting on 16-of-17 shots, including five-of-five from beyond the arc, which led to 44 points in the quarter led by Evan Mobley with 10 points, and Donovan Mitchell with nine points.
Cleveland led by 21 points at the half, as they held Philly just 44 percent shooting overall, including 3-of-14 from three-point range.
As the third quarter tipped off, Cleveland’s shooting cooled off a bit, but they still managed to shoot 50 percent and held Philly to 18 points on 32 percent shooting.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavalier lead had reached 24 points, and they were able to maintain that lead through the final 12 minutes and secure a 113-85 win.
Granted, the 76ers were without two key starters, to say the least, in James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, but this was still an impressive win by the Wine and Gold. Cleveland frustrated superstar center Joel Embiid all evening and held him to 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
With the win, Cleveland moved to 9-1 on the season at home, as opposed to them having more issues as a young team on the road, and with 10 of their next 13 games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cavaliers have a great shot to stack wins together.
As for last night’s win, let’s get to the stud of the game.