Thursday night in the NBA brought one of the wildest comebacks in recent memory and a defensive slugfest in Oklahoma City.
76ers 114, Cavaliers 106
PHILADELPHIA â The new-look 76ers wiped out a 29-point deficit and stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 in their home opener. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 32 points and Joel Embiid added 24. According to Yahoo Sports, it was the biggest comeback of LeBron James' career.
Cleveland scored 69 points in the first half, but managed only 21 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth. Embiid scored seven straight points in the fourth quarter to pull Philadelphia within 96-95, and the Sixers finished the job from there. Yahoo Sports noted the Cavaliers had been 155-0 when leading by 29, while the 76ers had been 0-156 when trailing by that much.
Donovan Mitchell had 32 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, and Evan Mobley added 18. James Harden scored 16, according to the NBA.com box score.
Thunder 96, Nuggets 84
OKLAHOMA CITY â Defense carried the Thunder in their home opener. Chet Holmgren grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked four shots to go with 12 points, and Oklahoma City held Denver to 84. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 20 points and six rebounds.
The takeaway
One night in, Philadelphia showed it can survive a disastrous start, and Oklahoma City reminded the league that its defense travels into a new season. Cleveland is left to explain how a 29-point lead disappeared at home in front of an opponent's crowd.
Sources: ESPN, NBA.com, Yahoo Sports. Images are illustrations.
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