Embiid has 29 points, helps 76ers snap Cavaliers’ win streak

PHILADELPHIA(AP) — Joel Embiid scored 29 points — including the 10,000th of hiscareer — and the Philadelphia 76ers survived a rocky second half tobeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-112 on Wednesday night.

Afterwatching a 28-point lead in the second half melt to four with 90seconds left, the Sixers were able to put it away by making 13straight free throws.

“That’s apretty good team over there that will give other teams trouble,”Embiid said. “Obviously, we knew they would make a run. But theygot the stops when we needed to.”

James Hardenadded 19 points and 12 assists to help send the 76ers into theAll-Star break with their fourth straight victory. De’AnthonyMelton added 18 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 16.

“To win thatgame despite the adversity was good for us,” Maxey said.

DonovanMitchell had 33 points — including 25 in the second half — for theCavaliers. They had won seven straight. Darius Garland added 27points for Cleveland, and Evan Mobley had 23.

“We allowedthem to put a little bit of doubt in our minds early, but wefigured it out,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

After thegame, Embiid — scheduled to be a starter in the All-Star Game inUtah on Sunday night — indicated that he may sit the game out dueto lingering left foot soreness that has been officially marked onthe Sixers injury report since the club’s trip to the West Coast inlate December. Embiid mentioned that doctors had told him thatgetting off of the foot was necessary in order to prevent theinjury from getting worse.

“I was tryingto get the All-Star Break without missing games” Embiid said. “ButI think that I may have reached the point where I need to followthe doctors advice. We’ll see how the next few days go.”

Embiid passedthe 10,000 point mark early in the first quarter. He accomplishedthe milestone in his 373rd game — the fastest in franchise historyahead of Allen Iverson’s 378.

“I can onlythink what if I didn’t miss all these games, but that’s not wherethe focus is,” Embiid said. “I’m just focused on what I can do tohelp the team. Whether it is scoring a lot, passing, defensively-then I’m going to do it.”

Philadelphiahit its first six 3-pointers and 11 of 14 shots from the floor tojump out to a 31-10 lead. The Sixers led by 28 early in the secondhalf.

Clevelandrallied in the second half in part because of its ability to movethe ball around and force turnovers. The Cavs forced nine turnoversin the second half, turning them into 20 points while just turningthe ball over once.

“They did agreat job of physically out of our stuff,” Bickerstaff said. “Theywere aggressive on both ends of the floor and it took us too longto recover from that first punch. We showed what we are capable ofin the second half with 17 assists and just one turnover.”

TIP-INS

Cavaliers:Danny Green made his return to the Cavaliers lineup on Wednesdaynight, scoring three points in about 12 minutes. Green — who playedthree games for Memphis this season before being traded to Houstonand being eventually waived — was drafted by the Cavs in 2009.Bickerstaff indicated that Green’s role will be as much mentor fora young lineup as opposed to on the floor. “We know his game hisability to make shots and defend, but our group needs as muchinformation as they have,” Bickerstaff said. ... Ricky Rubio wasinactive for Cleveland with a non-COVID illness.

76ers: Philadelphia forwardP.J. Tucker was back in the starting lineup after leaving Monday’sgame against Houston with right calf tightness.