76ers beat Cavaliers to conclude winning road trip
FILE — Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates a Shake Milton #18 three pointer, to end the third quarter at Staples Center on March 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP
Shake Milton scored 27 points off the bench to help the Philadelphia 76ers conclude a six-game road trip with a 114-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Milton made 10 of 14 shots from the floor and joined Seth Curry by draining five 3-pointers. Milton’s point total fell just shy of his season-high total of 31, which was recorded in Philadelphia’s 125-108 win over the Miami Heat on Jan. 14.
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Curry had 19 points and Dwight Howard collected 18 points and 15 rebounds for the 76ers, who snapped a two-game skid to finish the trek with a 4-2 mark.
The victory allowed Philadelphia to avert a three-game season sweep at the hands of Cleveland and improve to 7-3 with four-time All-Star center Joel Embiid nursing a bone bruise in his left knee.
Article continues after this advertisementCollin Sexton had 24 points and Dean Wade chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have dropped four in a row. Kevin Love scored all 13 of his points in the first quarter in his return from an eight-game absence due to a severe calf strain.
The 76ers ratcheted up the intensity in the third quarter to turn a narrow 58-56 halftime lead into a rout.
Tobias Harris drained a pair of short jumpers and Danny Green drilled 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push Philadelphia’s advantage to 68-58 early in the third quarter.
Cleveland countered with a 7-0 run before Green and Curry each converted from beyond the arc to highlight a 15-4 spurt by the Sixers that pushed their lead to 83-69.
Milton and Furkan Korkmaz each sank a 3-pointer as Philadelphia scored 12 of the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to open up a 97-76 lead. The 76ers were not seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova missed all four of his shots while logging 16 minutes in his season debut. Dellavedova sustained a concussion during the Cavaliers’ preseason opener on Dec. 12 and later felt pain in his abdomen, leading to him having his appendix removed on Feb. 20.
