Cavs blow 18-point lead, still get best of 76ers in OT

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Nov 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Nov 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Image: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Darius Garland scored 32 points, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley recorded double-doubles and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied after squandering an 18-point lead to beat the host Philadelphia 76ers 122-119 in overtime on Tuesday night in an NBA in-season tournament game.

Allen had the last of his 26 points on a go-ahead basket with 18 seconds remaining in the extra period, scoring after Garland rebounded his own miss and Craig Porter dished out his game-high ninth assist.

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The victory extended Cleveland's winning streak to four games and improved the Cavaliers to 2-1 in East Group A action in the in-season tournament. The win came after Philadelphia, which trailed almost the entire game, chipped away at its deficit throughout the second half.

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Joel Embiid scored 32 points, including seven of Philadelphia's 11 during an 11-4 run midway through the fourth quarter that pulled the Sixers within 99-96 with 5:02 left. Tobias Harris, who scored 23 points, hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 2:49 remaining in regulation to kick off a stretch in which neither side led by more than two points until the final 9.5 seconds of overtime.

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The extra session featured three ties and five lead changes, the penultimate one coming on another Harris 3-pointer with 37.4 seconds remaining.

Allen's basket on the ensuing Cleveland possession and the Cavaliers' defense of Tyrese Maxey's layup attempt on the other end set up Garland, who canned a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

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Max Strus, who shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range, finished with 20 points for the Cavaliers. Mobley had 18 points and 12 rebounds, with Allen adding a game-high-tying 13 rebounds.

Cleveland was without Donovan Mitchell for a third consecutive game due to a hamstring injury.

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Maxey finished with 30 points and a team-high six assists in the loss. Embiid matched Allen's game high with 13 rebounds and blocked a game-high five shots. De'Anthony Melton added 13 points for the Sixers.

With the loss, Philadelphia fell to 2-2 in in-season tournament play.

—Field Level Media