Sports · Explainer
Down 29, booed at halftime — then the 76ers made history in LeBron's home debut
Watch: the NBA's own cut of the comeback, from 29 down to the win. Video: NBA · YouTube
The Philadelphia 76ers trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers by as many as 29 points and went into halftime down 69-45 on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena — in the home debuts of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. They won 114-106. According to Heavy, the 29-point rally is the biggest comeback in 76ers history in the play-by-play era, the largest of LeBron James's career, and the biggest collapse Cleveland has ever suffered.
Why this comeback broke records, not just hearts
- First ever in a home opener: the Sixers are the first team in NBA history to overcome a 20-plus-point halftime deficit to win their home opener, according to OptaSTATS, reported by ClutchPoints — the first success in 66 such tries.
- A streak snapped: before Thursday, NBA teams had won 466 consecutive regular-season games when leading by 29 or more, and Cleveland was 155-0 in those situations, per Heavy.
- Only the 10th ever: it is just the 10th time in the play-by-play era that a team has overcome a deficit of 29-plus points to win, according to the NBA. Philadelphia's previous franchise record was 26 points against Indiana on November 14, 2008.
How the second half flipped
Philadelphia outscored Cleveland 69-37 after halftime, according to Field Level Media's game report, via Deadspin. The Sixers needed only 78 seconds of the third quarter to cut a 24-point deficit to 13, got within two late in the third, and took their first lead of the night on a Joel Embiid jumper with about 7:20 left. Brown scored the next six points and Tyrese Maxey added a bucket to complete a 15-0 run and a 104-95 lead. Cleveland crept back within 106-102, but Donovan Mitchell missed two free throws and Philadelphia closed it out.
The box score that tells the story
- Tyrese Maxey: 32 points, 6 assists — serenaded with "MVP" chants
- Joel Embiid: 24 points, 7 rebounds
- Jaylen Brown: 21 points in his Sixers home debut, 10 of them in the fourth quarter
- LeBron James: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals in his home debut
- For Cleveland: Mitchell matched Maxey with 32 points and 10 rebounds; Evan Mobley added 18, James Harden 16 and Jarrett Allen 14
All five Philadelphia starters scored in double figures, per Heavy, and second-year guard VJ Edgecombe flirted with a triple-double at 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. James, who admitted Maxey was a big reason he signed with Philadelphia, summed up the night via the reports: "We got the boos. That was amazing and we deserved it. And then we got the cheers and almost blew the roof off this thing." The win moves Philadelphia to 2-0 — they opened with a win at New York on Tuesday — while Cleveland falls to 0-1 in its opener. The Sixers host Milwaukee on Saturday.
Sources: Field Level Media via Deadspin (game flow, second-half 69-37 split, 15-0 run); Heavy (play-by-play-era record, 466-game and 155-0 streaks, starter scoring); ClutchPoints / OptaSTATS (first home-opener comeback from 20+ down at halftime); NBA (10th 29-plus comeback of the era, previous record 26 vs. Indiana in 2008). Final score and player lines as reported at publication.