Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, 45, reacts during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Required Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Darius Garland scored 25 points and Donovan Mitchell took over late as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 114-106 on the road in the NBA on Wednesday.
Mitchell had 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland (13-0), which is off to the NBA’s best start since the Golden State Warriors’ record-setting 24-game winning streak to open the 2015-16 season. After battling for much of the first half, the Cavaliers made a variety of big shots in the most important moments.
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Philadelphia struggled without Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (knee), and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring), but suffered their ninth loss in 11 games this season. The 76ers lost to the New York Knicks on Tuesday, but were playing in back-to-back games.
Read: NBA: Cavaliers defeat Bulls to remain undefeated at 12-0
Rookie Jared McCain used his remaining minutes to score a career-high 34 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 20 points and Caleb Martin had 18 points.
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With Cleveland leading 103-100 with less than three minutes left, Mitchell sank 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Cavaliers ahead 109-102. He hit a step-back 3-pointer with 1:18 left, followed by a layup on a drive to make it 114-104 with about a minute left.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, 10, passes the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter of an NBA game at Wells Fargo Center. Required Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Both teams made five 3-pointers in the first quarter, with the Cavaliers making just eight attempts, giving Cleveland a 31-27 lead at the end of the period.
Read: NBA: Cavaliers beat Nets to stay perfect at 11-0
The Sixers started the second quarter on a 12-1 run. Reggie Jackson scored eight of the points for the hosts, with Martin scoring the remaining four. Philadelphia led by as many as eight points in the second quarter and entered the locker room with a 54-48 lead.
Early in the third quarter, Cleveland scored 10 consecutive points on a floater by Garland, turning a seven-point deficit into a 62-59 lead. Garland scored 13 points in the third quarter for the visitors, who led 82-78 after three periods.
Mitchell hit a 3-pointer off Ty Jerome on the first possession of the fourth quarter and hit a jumper on his next pass to put Cleveland up 87-78. But Philadelphia chipped away and got within 95-93 on Oubre’s layup with 6:47 left. –Field level media
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