NBA: 76ers answer boos with historic 29-point comeback

On a memorable night at the Xfinity Arena, the Philadelphia 76ers pulled off an epic comeback to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-106 after trailing by as many as 29 points (69-40 with just over a minute left in the first half).

The feat marked the largest comeback in Sixers history, the biggest blown lead in Cavaliers franchise history, and the greatest comeback in LeBron James' 24-year career.

Tyrese Maxey took center stage for both his team and the crowd, finishing as the game's top scorer with 32 points and 6 assists. A pivotal moment came in the third quarter when the guard drained a transition three off a LeBron James pass (17 points, 10 rebounds), cutting the deficit to 10 and igniting the arena as he celebrated with fans alongside Jaylen Brown (21 points, 8 rebounds) and Joel Embiid (24 points, 7 rebounds).

"It was just a great moment," Maxey said after the game. "The fans were totally locked in. We fed off the crowd, our energy, and our resilience."

At halftime, however, the outlook was bleak for Philadelphia. Just two days after defeating the defending champion New York Knicks in their season opener, the Sixers were thoroughly outplayed across the first two quarters. They committed 15 turnovers—their highest first-half total since January 2024—and went into the break trailing 69-45, drawing loud boos from the home crowd.

In the locker room, Maxey challenged the team: "I told them, 'Well, it's time to see what we're made of. Are we going to be the type of team that's only happy when things are going well? Or, when things get tough, are we going to fight and stay resilient?' And that's exactly what we did."

The response was immediate. The Sixers opened the second half on an 8-0 run and dominated the third quarter 37-21. The comeback was completed with 6:54 remaining courtesy of an Embiid mid-range jumper over Jarrett Allen, seizing a lead Philadelphia never relinquished. Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 32 points, managed just two in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder comfortably took care of business at home against the Denver Nuggets, but the headline of the night was the end of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historic 20-point scoring streak.

Following a sluggish first half, the Thunder guard missed all seven of his field goal attempts to finish with just two points as Denver took a four-point lead into halftime. However, SGA found his shooting touch after the break, and the 2025 champions dialed up their defensive intensity, holding Jokic and company to just 36 second-half points to cruise to a comfortable win.

With 1:43 remaining and the Thunder leading 93-76, Nuggets head coach David Adelman waved the white flag, pulling his starters. Mark Daigneault followed suit at the insistence of SGA, who sat with just 17 points.

"You have to respect the game," the guard explained afterward. With that, his streak of regular-season games with 20 or more points came to an end at 141, dating back to October 30, 2024.