CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have been plagued by inconsistent play since the NBA All-Star break and haven't won back-to-back games at any point in March.
For example, the Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak with a home victory Monday over the Charlotte Hornets , but Cleveland then lost Wednesday in Charlotte.
Perhaps the Cavs will get their act together after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 117-114 on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell being back certainly won't hurt the Cavs ' chances to build some momentum before the NBA playoffs being April 20.
Injuries have played a significant role throughout this Cavs season .
But Mitchell returned to the starting lineup against the Sixers (39-35), made two clutch free throws for the Cavs (45-29) and scored 12 points to go along with eight assists. He missed the previous six games after suffering a nasal fracture and had been listed as questionable earlier Friday.
Tipoff between the Cavs and Sixers occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. Friday. Here are our updates from throughout the game.
Below is some information about the fourth quarter.
Forward Evan Mobley drained a wide-open 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left to give the Cavs a 115-113 lead.
The clutch shot came moments after the 76ers had seized a one-point lead when guard Tyrese Maxey tapped the ball away from Cavs point guard Darius Garland and then made a layup off the turnover.
Center Jarrett Allen hadn't played during the fourth quarter until he checked into the game with 28.2 seconds left. After he fouled 76ers center Mo Bamba , Bamba split a pair of free throws with 18.8 seconds remaining. The Cavs held a 1115-114 lead, and Allen grabbed the defensive rebound after the missed foul shot.
All of this led to Mitchell being fouled by the Sixers and making two free throws to give the Cavs a 117-114 lead with 12.8 seconds left. Maxey took a 3-pointer during Philly's final possession but missed with 2.5 seconds left. Allen secured another important rebound.
Cavs forward Georges Niang scored a game-high 25 points. Three Cavs players finished with a double-double. Mobley had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Allen had 13 points and 11 rebounds. And Garland posted 14 points and 12 assists.
Guard Kyle Lowry led the 76ers with 23 points. Sixers forward Tobias Harris added 21 points.
There were 27 lead changes in the game.
After Mobley made baskets on consecutive possessions, Harris nailed a jump shot.
Philly trailed 108-105 after those exchanges, and Cleveland used a timeout with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter.
Lowry threw an alley-oop to Bamba and then made a jump shot on Philly's next possession.
The Cavs had their cushion reduced to 104-101 and called timeout with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Niang scored eight points in the first 3:20 of the fourth quarter. He gave Cleveland a 98-94 advantage by draining a 3-pointer with 8:40 remaining, compelling Philly to use a timeout.
Garland scored five quick points to begin the fourth quarter and give the Cavs a 90-87 lead with 11:17 remaining.
Below is some information about the third quarter.
With 8.5 seconds left in the third quarter, Garland made a step-back 3-pointer, but there was a problem. The shot didn't count because Garland was called for traveling, a verdict Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn't accept without expressing his displeasure.
The Cavs trailed 87-85 at the end of the third quarter.
Cavs guard Sam Merrill answered a series of Philly three-point possessions by nailing a 3-pointer with 2:33 left before halftime and giving Cleveland an 83-82 edge. Merrill finished with 13 points.
After the Cavs committed a shot clock violation with 5:45 left in the third quarter, forward Nicolas Batum made a 3-pointer to give the 76ers a 74-73 lead with 5:29 remaining.
Lowry produced a three-point play on Philly's next possession, giving it a 77-76 edge with 4:54 left.
The Cavs fell behind 82-78 when Maxey made a 3-pointer with 3:24 left.
Lowry made a 3-pointer and then assisted on a layup by Maxey.
The sequence allowed the 76ers to trim the Cavs' lead to 73-71 with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Mobley and Max Strus made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Cavs a 70-63 lead with 8:10 left in the third quarter. Strus finished with 15 points.
The sequence prompted the Sixers to call timeout.
Garland reached 2,000 career assists by setting up Mobley's 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the third quarter. LeBron James , Kyrie Irving and Garland are the only players in Cavs history to compile at least 5,000 points and 2,000 assists by age 24 or younger.
Below is some information about the second quarter.
Allen grabbed an offensive rebound and made a hook shot en route to a three-point play with 50.8 seconds left in the first half, giving the Cavs a 57-55 edge. They led by the same score at halftime.
Niang had a team-high 13 points for the Cavs in the first half. Merrill scored 10 points, followed by Mitchell and Allen with nine apiece.
Harris led all scorers with 14 points in the first half. Forward Paul Reed added 12 points.
The Cavs shot 22 of 41 from the field (53.7%) in the first half compared with the Sixers shooting 18 of 47 from the floor (38.3%).
The Cavs led 50-42, but the Sixers rallied with an 8-0 to tie the score when Reed made a pair of foul shots with 3:31 remaining in the second quarter.
The home crowd didn't agree with the foul called on Mitchell during the play and let it be known.
With 2:37 left, Reed made a 3-pointer to give the 76ers a 53-52 lead.
With 9:04 left in the second quarter, Niang made a 3-pointer to give the Cavs a 38-33 lead.
Mitchell and Strus went to and from the locker room in the early part of the second quarter. They both checked back into the game with 8:35 left. Strus recently returned to action from an extended absence due to a knee injury.
Below is some information about the first quarter.
Moments after Cavs small forward Isaac Okoro missed a slam dunk, 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. made one to tie the score with 2:04 left in the first quarter. The Sixers then went ahead 25-21.
But Merrill made two 3-pointers in the final 52 seconds, and one of them resulted in a four-point play because it was paired with an ensuing successful free throw. The spark Merrill provided allowed the Cavs to lead 28-25 after the opening quarter.
Mobley also blocked a shot by Maxey at the buzzer.
The Cavs called timeout with 4:55 left in the opening quarter after Maxey made a 3-pointer to cut Cleveland's edge to 16-14.
It was Maxey's first successful shot out of four attempts.
Mitchell made two of his first three shots, including a 3-pointer, to give the Cavs five early points and a 14-9 lead during a timeout with 6:28 left in the first quarter.
Mitchell also had a steal on the other end of the floor and subsequently dished out an assist to Garland for a fast-break layup with 10:21 remaining.
Below is some pregame information .
The Cavs ruled out guards Caris LeVert (wrist soreness), Craig Porter Jr. (illness) and Ty Jerome (ankle) along with forward Dean Wade (knee sprain). Garland (ankle sprain) was labeled as probable and played.
The 76ers ruled out center/forward Joel Embiid (knee), forward Robert Covington (knee) and guard De'Anthony Melton (back).
Donovan Mitchell is back and in a mask: Cavs All-Star guard returns after six-game absence for Cavaliers vs 76ers
The Cavs and 76ers finished their 2023-24 regular-season series in a 2-2 tie.
The Cavs are now 109-118 in their all-time series with the Sixers. Cleveland is 63-50 at home.
The game was televised locally on WUAB (Channel 43). It was broadcast on the radio via WTAM (1100-AM), WMMS (100.7-FM) and WNZN (89.1-FM).
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs defeat 76ers in All-Star Donovan Mitchell's return
