PHILADELPHIA 76ERS OVERTURN 29-POINT DEFICIT AGAINST CLEVELAND

The Philadelphia 76ers overturned a 29-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 in LeBron James’s first home game for Philadelphia. The result marked the largest comeback win of James’s 24-season NBA career. Cleveland led 69-45 at half-time, when the home crowd booed Philadelphia’s players as they left the court. The 76ers outscored Cleveland 69-37 after the break. James called his home debut “everything that I dreamed of and more”.

Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 32 points, while Joel Embiid scored 24. James contributed 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia took its first lead with just under seven minutes remaining, then scored 15 consecutive points to move 104-95 ahead. Cleveland narrowed the gap to 106-102 before the 76ers completed the win.

Recorded play-by-play data puts the result as Philadelphia’s largest comeback since that record began in the 1996-97 season. James’s previous largest comeback win came from 25 points down against the Indiana Pacers in 2017. Philadelphia has opened the season with two comeback wins, having beaten the New York Knicks 106-100 in its first game. James, who joined the 76ers on a two-year contract, said unforced turnovers and missed open shots had hurt the team in the first half. He said Philadelphia reduced those mistakes and limited Cleveland’s offensive rebounds after half-time.