Another night, another win for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With a 118-94 win against the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday night in Cleveland, the Cavs improved to 3-0 on the season, making them one of just six teams to still be undefeated.
Both teams entered Sunday’s matchup with injuries in the starting lineup, with Isaac Okoro out for Cleveland and Joel Embiid out for Philadelphia. Cleveland went with Larry Nance Jr. in place of Okoro, leaning into its size in the starting five. The Cavs ultimately came out of the gate hot, outscoring the 76ers by five in the first quarter and by nine in the second quarter.
Cleveland again hammered the paint en route to its win, outscoring Philadelphia 68-38 in the paint. Andre Drummond led the way with 24 points and shooting 11-18 from the field. The Cavs also held a 19-8 advantage on second-chance points with Drummond pulling down 6 offensive rebounds.
Collin Sexton added 22 points for the Cavs, while Darius Garland added 14 points and 7 assists. Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 16 points, while Ben Simmons added 15.
The one tough moment for the Cavs was Kevin Love only playing 9 minutes and leaving the game with a reaggravated calf injury. Per Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Love had an ultrasound on the injury on Sunday and will have an MRI tomorrow. The injury, which Love picked up in the preseason, kept him out of the season opener before he made his season debut Saturday against the Pistons.
Up next: The Cavs get a day off before playing the New York Knicks on Tuesday in Cleveland. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
This fast break is EVERYTHING. 😍 pic.twitter.com/bk9PBI2gMI
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 28, 2020