Philadelphia 76ers erase a 29-point deficit to beat Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106: Tyrese Maxey scores 32 and Joel Embiid 24

The Philadelphia 76ers trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers by 29 points late in the first half and still won their home opener 114-106 at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday, October 22. Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, Joel Embiid had 24 and Jaylen Brown 21, and Philadelphia outscored Cleveland 69-37 after halftime in front of 21,423 fans.

The NBA noted it was the largest comeback in 76ers history and the 10th-largest in the league in the play-by-play era. Philadelphia did not lead until Embiid’s 16-foot jumper made it 96-95 with 6:54 left, the only lead change of the night, and a 15-0 run that started with Embiid’s three-point play put the game away. Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points with 10 rebounds for Cleveland, 22 of them in the first half, but the Cavaliers managed 16 points in the fourth quarter.

PHILLY ERASES A 29-POINT DEFICIT TO WIN THEIR HOME OPENER 🚨

It's the largest @sixers comeback and 10th-largest NBA comeback of the play-by-play era 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6tgwE6p3IW

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2026

Video: NBA / X.

How it turned

Cleveland broke an 11-11 tie with a 28-7 run that stretched into the second quarter. Evan Mobley dunked, James Harden and Sam Merrill hit threes, Mitchell made three free throws after being fouled on a three, and his 28-foot step-back three just before the buzzer made it 35-18 after one. Mobley opened the second with four quick points for a 39-18 lead, and Mitchell’s step-back three and a short jumper off a Harden pass made it 69-40 with 1:12 left in the half. VJ Edgecombe scored and Embiid hit a 24-footer with 0.7 seconds left to cut it to 69-45 at halftime.

The 76ers scored the first 11 points of the third quarter. Brown hit a three, and Edgecombe and LeBron James each finished three-point plays before an Embiid layup made it 69-56. Cleveland pushed back to 80-66, but Maxey scored nine points in the quarter, including a 27-foot running three, and Philadelphia got within 84-82 with 2:30 left. Mario Hezonja scored twice and Mitchell once to give the Cavaliers a 90-82 lead after three.

Harden’s 25-foot pull-up three made it 95-89 with 8:37 left, and Cleveland did not score again for almost five minutes. Embiid scored seven straight points on a turnaround three-point play, a floater and a 16-footer, Brown followed with a fadeaway, a driving layup and a pull-up jumper, and Maxey’s basket made it 104-95 with 4:06 to play. Harden hit a 26-foot three to cut it to 104-100 with 2:51 left, but Embiid answered with a fadeaway, Maxey hit a floater with 1:03 left, and Brown scored twice off Edgecombe passes, the second a dunk with 21.1 seconds left.

THE SIXERS ARE ON A 13-0 RUN IN Q4 💨

AFTER TRAILING BY AS MANY AS 29 POINTS, PHILLY NOW LEADS BY 7 WITH LESS THAN 5 MINUTES TO PLAY! pic.twitter.com/9S8bl0BKeh

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2026

The numbers

Philadelphia shot 46 percent and made only 7 of 28 threes, but it scored 64 points in the paint and went 23-of-30 at the free-throw line. Maxey played 42 minutes, shot 12-of-23 and added 6 assists, and was plus-19. Embiid went 8-of-16 with 7 rebounds and scored 9 of his points in the fourth quarter, Brown made 10 of 20 shots and scored 10 in the fourth, and James had 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, 10 of his points coming in the third quarter. Edgecombe added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. The 76ers’ bench scored 9 points, and Anfernee Simons went 0-of-4 and was minus-24.

Cleveland’s side

Mitchell went 11-of-19 and 8-of-11 at the line, but he scored only 2 points in the fourth quarter and had 5 turnovers. Mobley added 18 points and 8 rebounds, Harden had 16 points and 5 assists with 6 turnovers, and Jarrett Allen, listed as questionable before the game, scored 14 with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Hezonja scored 10 off the bench but missed all five of his threes. The Cavaliers committed 21 turnovers, went 7-of-29 from three and were 2-of-14 from deep after halftime.

What’s next

Both teams play at home on Saturday, October 24. The 76ers host the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Cavaliers host the Brooklyn Nets, with both games at 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Sunday Cairo time). Philadelphia is 2-0 after winning at the New York Knicks on opening night, and Cleveland is 0-1.

Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head. Before the game: Allen was listed as questionable.