The Cleveland Cavaliers were missing several key players Tuesday but kept it close in a 106-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were without Kevin Love, Marquese Chriss, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr. and Matthew Dellavedova Tuesday night and managed to keep it close in Philadelphia. Chriss missed the game due to his one-game suspension and Love is still not participating in back-to-back contests. An argument can be made that if Cleveland had their full compliment of players that they could have won Tuesday.
Cleveland actually led late in the game. With just under three minutes remaining the Cavaliers took a 97-96 lead, but it would not last. Cleveland would only score two more points as Philadelphia added nine to bring their final point total to 106. The fact that Cleveland kept it this competitive after being down 24 to 12 after the first quarter is quite surprising.
Collin Sexton led the way for the Cavaliers with 26 points in 35 minutes. Sexton made 11 of 20 shots from the field including four of seven from three-point range. Sexton also recorded two rebounds and one assist in the contest.
Cedi Osman was Cleveland’s second-highest scorer on the evening with 18 points. Osman went 7-19 from field, this includes 4-9 from deep. Osman rounded out his performance with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Jordan Clarkson eclipsed the double-digit barrier yet again but he was far from efficient. Clarkson only made five shots on the night while he missed 15. Clarkson also went 0-8 from three-point range which is far from what is expected of him at this point. Considering his overall body of work this season this game seems more like an outlier than his true talent level.
Cleveland’s next game has the Cavaliers taking on the Magic in Orlando Thursday at 7:00 P.M.
