LeBron James made his Philadelphia home debut one to remember. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer led the 76ers to a 114-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 22, erasing a 29-point deficit at Xfinity Mobile Arena in a game Philadelphia had no business winning after the first half.
The 76ers trailed by as many as 29 points in the first half, down 69-40 before limping into the halftime break at 69-45. Cleveland had its way early, but the second half told a different story. What followed was one of the great comebacks in recent NBA history, capped by a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that turned the building upside down.
LeBron James sparks the fourth-quarter run
The rally started with defense. Philadelphia clamped down in the second half, and LeBron James set the tone with his energy on both ends. The 15-0 fourth-quarter run was powered by three straight buckets from Jaylen Brown, and the 76ers went up by as many as nine points with 4:06 left.
In the final minute, Tyrese Maxey and Brown each had a basket to secure the win. LeBron James finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals, stuffing the box score even on a night when his teammates carried much of the scoring.
For LeBron James, the comeback was the largest he has been a part of in his 24 NBA seasons, according to ESPN. It was also the biggest comeback for the 76ers and the biggest blown lead for the Cavaliers in the play-by-play era, which began in 1996. Teams across the NBA had won 466 straight regular-season games when leading by 29 points before Thursday, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
Maxey, Embiid and Brown carry the scoring load
LeBron James did not do it alone. Maxey led the team with 32 points, six assists and three rebounds. Joel Embiid added 24 points and seven rebounds, while Brown had 21 points and eight boards.
The balance was exactly what Philadelphia hoped for when it reshaped its roster this offseason, adding two stars to a team built around Maxey and Embiid. James joined the 76ers after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, and Brown arrived in a blockbuster deal with the Boston Celtics. On Thursday, the new-look core showed what it can do when everything clicks at once.
A familiar opponent and a fiery subplot
The win carried extra meaning because of the opponent. LeBron James was drafted by Cleveland and won the 2016 NBA Finals with his hometown team, and Thursday was another chapter in his long history against the Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Mitchell fouled LeBron James in the third quarter during a rebound attempt, and James accidentally elbowed his teammate VJ Edgecombe in the scramble, giving Edgecombe a bloody nose.
Evan Mobley contributed 18 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. James Harden added 16 points, three rebounds and five assists in his return to Philadelphia, where he played from 2021 to 2023, and was greeted by boos at tipoff.
LeBron James and a 2-0 start for Philadelphia
The comeback was not the first statement of the week for the 76ers. Philadelphia opened the season with a 106-100 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on opening night, right after the Knicks’ ring ceremony.
The Knicks know something about 29-point comebacks themselves. New York erased a 29-point deficit in Game 4 of the NBA Finals this summer on the way to its first championship in 53 years. Philadelphia has now done the same to Cleveland in October.
For James, the night was about more than the numbers. At an age when most players are long retired, he played a central role in the biggest comeback of his career, on the floor for the run that flipped the game. The 76ers are 2-0, and their new superstar has settled in quickly.