Mitchell and Mobley lead Cleveland to 119-95 rout of Philadelphia

The only lead Philadelphia held was two points, at 0-2. On Friday 6 November 2026, at the Rocket Arena, in front of 19,432 spectators, Cleveland beat the Sixers 119-95 and finished 24 points clear. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 23 points, 8 assists and a plus-minus of +28 in 33 minutes.

The Eastern Conference leaders thus came unstuck in Cleveland. The Cavaliers were without Jarrett Allen, who is injured with a knee problem, and Jaylon Tyson; Sam Merrill took Allen's place in the starting five, playing 13 minutes and scoring no points. For the Sixers, Dominick Barlow, Ariel Hukporti and Adem Bona were absent. The night also carried symbolic weight: LeBron James was back in Cleveland, the city where he delivered the Cavaliers' 2016 title.

A 15-0 run to open the night

It was 0-2 with 11:17 left in the first quarter. Cleveland then reeled off fifteen unanswered points to lead 15-2 at 7:27. At 6:24, the gap was 17-4. The quarter ended 33-22, and Philadelphia never got back in front.

Philadelphia responded in the second period, which it won 32-29. The halftime score was 62-54 to Cleveland, after 49-41 a little over six minutes before the break. The margin remained eight points. Coming out of the locker room, the visitors lost ground.

A one-sided third quarter

Cleveland took the third quarter 29-20 and led 91-74 at the buzzer, after 73-65 midway through the period. The pulling away continued over the last minute of the quarter: an 11-0 run, from 85-74 to 96-74, stretched to 9:43 left in the game. Philadelphia was then 22 points adrift.

Cleveland then held on to a big lead. With 6:37 left, the scoreboard read 103-82. With 39 seconds on the clock, it read 117-92, the biggest gap of the game: 25 points. The final quarter finished 28-21 to Cleveland.

Players of the match

Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He shot 7 of 18 from the field, including 1 of 6 from three, with four turnovers, but made 8 of 10 free throws. His +28 was the best plus-minus of the game.

Evan Mobley followed with 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three, with not a single turnover in 32 minutes (+17). James Harden added 17 points, including 3 three-pointers. Mario Hezonja, off the bench, grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 15 points. Peyton Watson pulled down 9 rebounds for a +22. Thomas Bryant scored 13 points in 16 minutes.

For the Sixers, Jaylen Brown was the top scorer with 20 points on 9 of 19, but Philadelphia were outscored by 22 points while he was on the floor. VJ Edgecombe added 19 points on 8 of 13 and 4 steals. Tyrese Maxey finished with 17 points, but went 2 of 9 from three.

Two stat lines sum up the Sixers' individual struggles. LeBron James finished with 8 points on 3 of 12 shooting, including 0 of 4 from three, with 6 turnovers. Joel Embiid, who was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, finished with 6 points, all from the free-throw line: he missed all nine of his shots. He added 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist in 25 minutes, for a plus-minus of -15. Senegal's Tacko Fall, born in Dakar, played 3 minutes late in the game, for 1 rebound.

The game in numbers

Cleveland led for 98% of playing time. The game was won inside: 50 points in the paint for the Cavaliers, 30 for the Sixers, and 42 defensive rebounds to 32. Cleveland's bench produced 44 points, Philadelphia's 25, with Hezonja (15), Bryant (13) and Meleek Thomas (12) for the Cavaliers. Philadelphia came out ahead only on fast-break points, 17 to 14, scant consolation on a night when LeBron James and Joel Embiid made 3 shots out of 21 between them.

Three takeaways

A gap that opened early. Cleveland's lead peaked at 25 points, while Philadelphia's only advantage was two points, at 0-2. The lead changed hands just once.

An edge on the boards and in shot volume. Cleveland pulled down 56 rebounds to 42 and dished out 25 assists to 20. Cleveland shot 40 of 88 and made 26 of 34 free throws, against 31 of 85 and 23 of 29 for Philadelphia. On two-pointers, by difference, Cleveland made 27 baskets to 21.

Philadelphia's night from distance went wrong. The visitors shot 10 of 40 from three and turned the ball over 16 times to Cleveland's 15. All five of their starters were outscored on plus-minus, from -8 to -22.

The SNA view

The margin has clear causes. Cleveland did not win on outside shooting alone, but through a fourteen-rebound gap, nine more baskets and three more free throws. Those gaps weighed more heavily than one poor shooting night from Mitchell. Philadelphia, for their part, missed thirty of forty from three. James and Embiid combined for 3 made baskets on 21 shots. A night this emphatic does not call Philadelphia's 8-2 record into question, but it shows that, in this game, the team lacked answers once their outside shooting disappeared.

What's next

Cleveland move to 5-4 and sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, in the standings as of 7 November. Philadelphia remain first in the East with an 8-2 record. Cleveland host the Knicks on 8 November at 2:00, Brazzaville time. Philadelphia travel to Chicago to face the Bulls the same day at 21:30, Brazzaville time.