76ers come back from 29 points down to beat Cavaliers 114-106 as Maxey scores 32

The Philadelphia 76ers came back from 29 points down to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 in their home opener at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday night (US time; tip-off 11:00pm GMT Thursday 22 October). Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points and Joel Embiid had 24, according to AP.

LeBron James had 17 points and 10 rebounds in what AP described as the biggest comeback win of his career. Jaylen Brown, also in his first season with Philadelphia, added 21 points and eight rebounds. The 76ers are 2-0 after beating the champion New York Knicks on Tuesday; it was Cleveland’s first game of the season.

Score by quarter (NBA.com): Cavaliers 35-34-21-16, 76ers 18-27-37-32.

How the game turned

Cleveland led 69-45 at half-time and by as many as 29 points, the box score shows. Philadelphia missed 11 of 15 three-point attempts and had 14 turnovers in the first half, AP said, and the home crowd booed late in the second quarter.

The 76ers outscored Cleveland 69-37 after the break. Embiid scored seven straight points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 96-95, and Maxey was the catalyst for a 15-0 run in the fourth that put Philadelphia ahead, AP reported. Maxey and Cavaliers guard James Harden, his former teammate, went nose-to-nose in the fourth quarter before they were separated, according to AP.

Maxey shot 12 of 23 and added six assists and two steals. James had five assists and three steals, and VJ Edgecombe finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Cleveland committed 21 turnovers to Philadelphia’s 16.

Cavaliers

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds, 22 of the points in the first half. Evan Mobley had 18 points and eight rebounds, Harden scored 16 with five assists and six turnovers, and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Attendance was 21,423. The Cavaliers play their home opener against Brooklyn on Saturday (US time), and the 76ers host Milwaukee on Saturday and Detroit on Sunday.

For Philadelphia’s opening-night win over the defending champion New York Knicks, see our Tuesday report.

Other games tonight

Only one other NBA game was played on Thursday night (US time):

• Oklahoma City Thunder 96, Denver Nuggets 84: Jalen Williams scored 21 points and Chet Holmgren had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks as the Thunder rallied from 48-44 down at half-time to win their home opener. Two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, ending his run of 140 consecutive games with at least 20 points, according to AP; Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points and Nikola Jokic had 13 (full report).