Cavaliers beat Sixers but early season problems returned

The Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed a much-needed 133-107 win against the Philadelphia 76ers, but there was a dark cloud looming underneath that victory.

Donovan Mitchell paced the Cavs with 35 points, and Evan Mobley added 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavs led comfortably for the majority in a superb bounce-back win against a lacklustre Sixers outfit.

However, Cleveland will be sweating on the fitness of Darius Garland again, after he hurt his right foot going for a loose ball after it was stolen from him. Garland previously had surgery in June on the injured left big toe that hampered him during Cleveland’s elimination from the Playoffs.

Garland shot 8-for-13 from the field for 20 points along with seven assists against the 76ers before he was taken off late in the third quarter.

The skilled point guard averaged 17.9 points after a slow start this season as he recovered from his offseason surgery. Last year, Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists during the regular season to help the Cavs finish at the top of the Eastern Conference.

“He was hooping,” Mitchell said about Garland’s performance afterwards. “He was getting downhill. Creating, setting the tone. Obviously, there’s concern, always, right? That’s my brother. But in the same token, it’s like, all right, let’s keep moving.”

Despite the concern, Cleveland returns to winning ways

The injury to Garland undoubtedly proved to be the main talking point at the final buzzer, when what should have been talked about was the performance.

Convincing from start to finish. The difference between the Cavs against Philadelphia compared to the team that was overpowered by the Utah Jazz on Monday was night and day. Then again, this has been the hallmark of the Cavaliers’ side this season: Inconsistent and wildly unpredictable.

On this night, though, they were all guns blazing against a Sixers side that fired blanks throughout.

“We needed to respond; that was a tough loss against Utah, and this shows the character of our team, ” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame.

“It wasn’t just a win, but how we played. 41 assists on 50 made baskets, I think, that’s Cavs basketball the way we moved it.”

De'Andre Hunter hit early triples that ballooned Cleveland's lead to 30-14 and eventually to 60-47 headed into halftime.

Sixers fans booed the team off the court in the third quarter, headed into a timeout, and trailing 75-53. They then decided enough was enough and flooded the exits with the Cavs up 22 midway through the final period.

The two teams will lock horns again on Friday.