The Philadelphia 76ers have suffered a setback in the NBA Cup. They suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have recently been struggling. LeBron James had a poor night back in his old stomping ground.

Last summer, LeBron James chose Philadelphia over his former club Cleveland; this was his first appearance in a Sixers jersey against the Cavs. With just eight points (3/12 FG), seven rebounds, three assists and six turnovers in 32 minutes, James scored in single figures for only the second time in over 1,000 games. This has happened just ten times in his entire career.

The Sixers struggled to get going from the outset and found themselves trailing by as many as 15 points in the first quarter. The Cavs dominated the boards and the paint, and were also significantly more accurate from distance. Joel Embiid fared even worse than James, missing all nine of his shots in 25 minutes and finishing the game with six points and seven rebounds.

Shortly before half-time, the visitors had nevertheless closed the gap to three points, but then Evan Mobley scored five quick points in a row and James Harden capped off the first half with a three-pointer off the board (62–54). The game was not decided until later, however, when the Sixers simply could not score between the third and fourth quarters.

Sixers go nearly seven minutes without a field goal

The visitors went nearly seven minutes without a field goal; during this period, the Cavs went on a 17:2 run and extended their lead to over 20 points. They managed all this even without the injured Jarrett Allen (knee), with Mobley (22 points, 8/13 FG) stepping into the centre position. The top scorer was Donovan Mitchell (23, 8 assists), whilst reserves such as Mario Hezonja (15, 10 rebounds) and Thomas Bryant (13) provided the Cavs with some solid contributions off the bench.

For the disappointing visitors, Jaylen Brown (20, 9/19) was the top scorer, whilst Tyrese Maxey (17, 5/15) also struggled with his shooting. The Sixers made just 10 out of 40 from beyond the arc; only VJ Edgecombe (19, 3/5 3-pointers) proved accurate. Philly are the only team in Group B East to have played two games so far (1-1), whilst the Cavs and Miami Heat remain unbeaten.