Cleveland Cavaliers lose again without Donovan Mitchell: Philadelphia 76ers come out on top without Joel Embiid as Tyrese Maxey takes over

This game featured to of the contending teams in the Eastern Conference, but both squads were without their best player. The 76ers have been dealing with the Joel Embiid injury for a while, but for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell missed his second game due to an illness.

After a red-hot start in 2024, Cleveland has now lost 2 straight games post All-Star break, as they fell short tonight to the Philadelphia 76ers 104-97 at Wells Fargo Center behind Tyrese Maxey’s leadership.

The first-time All-Star took the game over on primetime TV, as he scored 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Tobias Harris had 15 points and 9 rebounds while Buddy Hield finished with 13 points and 3 triples. Cameron Payne had 16 points off the bench.

For the Cavs, Jarrett Allen led the way with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Darius Garland had another great game, finishing with 20 points and 9 assists. After a slow start to the season the former All-Star point guard is beginning to pick his game back up. Max Stus had 14 points while Evan Mobley struggled and only scored 8.

This win improves the 76ers to 33-23, which makes them 5th in the Eastern Conference. Philly is now 1 game behind the 4th seeded Knicks and 1.5 games above the 6th seeded Pacers. They are 4-6 over their last 10 games and their next game will be on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks in an Eastern Conference showdown.

Meanwhile, this loss drops the Cavs to 36-19, which makes remain as the 2nd team in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is now just 1.5 games above the 3rd seeded Buck. They are 7-3 over their last 10 games and currently on a 2-game losing streak. Their next game will be on Sunday night against the Washington Wizards where they’ll look to turn things around.