By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Leading 96-91 with less than five minutes to go in the fourth, the Philadelphia 76ers (13-12) couldn't hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-8) down the stretch, falling by a final score of 105-98. After the Sixers took that five-point lead, the Cavs responded with a 14-2 run to close this one out and send the Sixers to their third straight loss. Late in the fourth, Robert Covington had to be helped off the court after a scramble for the ball. He apparently landed on a sharp metal object in the stands and injured his lower back.
Philadelphia put together a very strong effort tonight without the services of Joel Embiid, as the three-point shooting from Covington and Redick in the second half led the Sixers to a lead in the fourth. Covington ended up getting hurt, but finished with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 5-for-7 from beyond.
Meanwhile, Redick started the game 0-for-4 from downtown but hit four of his next five to finish with 19 points. Ben Simmons finished with a double-double, tallying 14 points and 10 assists to go along with six boards. Trevor Booker, in his first game as a Sixer, had a strong showing off the bench, scoring 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. Dario Saric, listed as questionable before the game with injuries to both of his eyes, had a really good game, scoring 17 points in addition to nine rebounds and six assists.
Jerryd Bayless and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot need to be better for the Sixers. In 37 minutes combined, the two went 0-for-8 from the floor, seven of those misses coming from three-point territory. At some point, if they aren't falling, you have to find other ways to score.
On the Cavs side, LeBron had an off night from the floor, hitting just nine of 23 from the floor. He finished with 30 points though, hitting 10 of 12 from the free throw line. James also had 13 rebounds and 13 assists to complete the triple-double. Jeff Green, Kyle Korver and Dwayne Wade each contributed with 13 off the bench for Cleveland.
The Sixers got out to an early lead in this one with Ben Simmons and Robert Covington helping them to a 13-3 advantage before the Cavs took their first timeout with just over seven minutes to play in the first. The Cavaliers wouldn't stay away for long though, chipping away at the Sixer lead with the help of a 9-0 later in the first to cut the deficit to just two. Cleveland tied things at 20, but newcomer Trevor Booker's two shots gave the Sixers a 24-23 lead after 12 minutes of action.
Cleveland scored the first five points of the second, courtesy of a Green triple and a Wade driving layup to go ahead 28-24. After starting the game 1-4, the Cavs hit 11 of their next 14 to take the lead away from the Sixers. The Cavs continued to keep the pedal to the medal, putting together a 13-2 run to extend their lead to 10, 36-26. Philadelphia would cut into the Cavaliers advantage as a Ben Simmons floater paired with a Richaun Holmes three shaved the lead to five with just under five left minutes in the half.
With the Cavs leading 41-37 in the second, Trevor Booker fouled J.R. Smith on a made three and he converted the free throw to put Cleveland back up by eight, halting a Sixers run. They wouldn't go away though. With less than three minutes to play in the second, the Sixers got to within one thanks to a 20-9 spurt. The Cavs responded to close the quarter, taking a 52-46 lead into the half. Philadelphia outscored Cleveland by seven in the second quarter, but the Cavs bench outscored the Sixers reserves 29-17 in the first half.
After 24 minutes of play, Dario Saric led the Sixers with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Down six, Dario still managed a first half plus-minus of +13. Newly-acquired forward Trevor Booker contributed with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, getting extended minutes over Amir Johnson and Richaun Holmes, both of whom picked up three fouls in the first half. Ben Simmons finished the half with eight points, six boards and five assists. LeBron had a quiet first half with nine points, four assists and three boards.
J.J. Redick finally hit his first two three's of the game in the third, cutting the Cavalier lead to six, 62-56, with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter. He was 0-for-4 in the first half. The sharp-shooting veteran hit his third straight three to cut the lead to five out of a Cavs timeout. Simmons, on the next possession, slammed for two to make it a three-point game. To no one's surprise, LeBron responded with a quick three followed by a steal and a layup to put Cleveland back up by eight. Following two missed free throws by Dwayne Wade with just over two minutes to play in the third, Covington hit a straightaway three to cut the deficit to four, 74-70. Cleveland entered the fourth ahead by five, 78-73.
The Sixers started the fourth on a mini 5-0 run thanks to a pair of free throws from Bayless and a triple from Covington, tying the game at 78 a piece. J.J. Redick hit a trio of free throws to tie the game again at 81 after a Cleveland three, and followed it with a triple to give the Sixers their first lead since the end of the first quarter, 84-81. A Dario Saric layup with 8:01 to go kept the Sixers up three and a pair of Amir Johnson free throws extended the advantage to 90-85. A Jae Crowder three with 5:30 remaining in the game cut the Sixers lead to one, 92-91.
With just under four to play, Kyle Korver got the lead back for the Cavs with a three, 97-96. Two Richaun Holmes free throws kept the Sixers down one, 99-98, with 1:30 to play in the game, but Wade responded with a layup after a scramble for the ball to put Cleveland back up by three. Robert Covington ended up in the stands after the scramble, and medical personnel tended to him for a few minutes before RoCo was helped off the court by Trevor Booker and Jacob Pullen. Play resumed and J.J. Redick forced a triple, missed, and Jae Crowder hit one on the other end to give Cleveland a 104-98 lead with 40.8 seconds left. Cleveland closed it out with a 105-98 victory, sending Philadelphia to their third straight loss.
Up Next:
Joel Embiid returns to the lineup on Sunday when the Sixers visit New Orleans for a matchup with the Pelicans in the second half of their back-to-back. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
