76ers beat Cavs, move above .500 for 1st time
76ers 95
Cavs 91
Next: Cavaliers vs. Spurs, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Associated Press
CLEVELAND
Back when the Philadelphia 76ers were 3-13, close games often went the other way.
Winning teams find ways to pull them out, and that’s what the 76ers are now.
The 76ers moved above .500 for the first time this season with a 95-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Philadelphia, which has won a season-high four straight games, held off a late rally that saw the Cavaliers cut a 15-point lead in the second half to two in the final seconds.
“This was a game that early in the season we would have lost,” coach Doug Collins said. “When we were struggling, we would have found a way to lose this one.”
They didn’t Sunday, thanks to a balanced attack. Elton Brand and Lou Williams scored 16 points apiece, and the 76ers placed six players in double figures.
The game typified Cleveland’s season. On a night newly acquired point guard Baron Davis was introduced to the media, leading scorer Antawn Jamison left the game in the third quarter with a broken little finger on his left hand. Coach Byron Scott doesn’t know how long Jamison, who scored 16 points in 30 minutes, will be out.
“We’ll have a little bit more of an understanding on what’s going to happen in the next day or so,” Scott said.
J.J. Hickson had 22 points and 16 rebounds for Cleveland. Davis, acquired Thursday from the Los Angeles Clippers, didn’t play. Scott wants Davis, who arrived in Cleveland on Saturday, to practice with the team before he plays in a game.
Brand left the game briefly in the third quarter with a dislocated little finger on his left hand.
“I didn’t want to come out, but the medical staff took me to get it fixed,” he said. “I felt it when I came back in, but I wanted to play. I’ll ice it, be at practice, and try not to think about it.”
The 76ers (30-29) have won six of seven and 13 of 17.