The Cleveland Cavaliers capped off with another victory on the road to extend their impressive season start after beating the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday (November 14), 114-106.
The Cavs capitalized on a Sixers team who were without their three stars: Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. Cleveland has been scorching hot in the 2024-2025 NBA season as they go undefeated through their first 13 games.
Darius Garland led the team with 25 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds, but Donovan Mitchell flirted with an almost triple-double stat after putting up 23 points, 9 assists, and 13 rebounds. Jarrett Allen also contributed with a nice double-double, 11 points and 13 boards.
Jared McCain Answers the Call
Embiid really followed through with his statement about not playing back-to-backs. Well, after a disappointing outing on Wednesday, the 2023 MVP sat the game against Cleveland. The Sixers were short-staffed without Embiid, and now George and Maxey are also on the sidelines. However, the rookie from Duke stepped up when he needed to. Instead of getting blown out by the best team in the East right now, Jared McCain rescued Philly from absolute disaster despite the loss.
McCain fired away with 34 points including 6 triples while also completing 10 dimes. McCain recorded 23 points yesterday against New York and 27 against Charlotte on November 11. With extra playing time and at this rate, McCain is poised to win the Rookie of the Year.
On the other hand, Kelly Oubre Jr. also showed up with 20 points and 6 rebounds while Caleb Martin posted his best output in the season so far with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The Cavaliers Join an Elite Club for a Rare Feat
With Cleveland now sitting at a 13-0 record, they just became one of the only six teams in NBA history to start the season with 13 wins and 0 losses. The other five are the 2015-2016 Golden State (24-0), 1993-1994 (15-0), 1948-1949 Washington Capitols (15-0), 2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks (14-0), and the 1957-1958 Boston Celtics (14-0). Unfortunately, out of all these teams, only the Olajuwon-led Rockets won a chip.
