PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Philadelphia 76ers fell behind by 29 points in their home opener Thursday night and still walked off the floor winners, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106.
Cleveland owned the first half, scoring 35 points in the opening quarter and 34 more in the second. Philadelphia answered with 37 points in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth while holding the Cavaliers to 37 total after the break.
Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points, and Joel Embiid added 24. Jaylen Brown chipped in 21, and LeBron James finished with 17 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and three steals in his first home game as a Sixer. A 15-0 burst in the fourth quarter, sparked by Maxey on defense, put Philadelphia in front for good.
The rally ranks as the biggest comeback win of James’ long career. For the franchise, no rally has been bigger since play-by-play tracking began in 1997-98, and the team has not climbed out of a deeper hole since overcoming a 30-point deficit against Boston on March 25, 1988. Cleveland had never before lost after leading by that many.
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were playing their season opener. The crowd of 21,423 filled the arena, and the Sixers are now 2-0 after an earlier win over the defending champion Knicks.
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