On Saturday December 21st at 8 pm eastern time, the 24-4 Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the 9-16 Philadelphia 76ers at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in downtown Cleveland Ohio. The Cavaliers last game was a 124-101 win over the Milwaukee Bicks at home on Friday night. Philadelphia’s last game was also on Friday, and it was a 108-98 win against the Charlotte Hornets in Philadelphia.  Max Struss made his 2024 debut for the Cavaliers on Friday night. He scored 9 points in 19 minutes that night. Both Struss and Isaac Okoro were out for Cleveland in this game. Out for Philly were Joel Embiid, Caleb Martin, and Jared McCain. The Cavaliers were going for their 25th win of the season and tried keep the eastern conference number one seeding.

The Cavaliers had a slow start to the game, but after 14-2 first quarter run, they were tied at the end of 1 quarter of play 30-30. In the second quarter the Cavaliers picked up the pace and pulled ahead of the 76ers at halftime 66-55. The Cavaliers continued to pour it on the 76ers in the third quarter and led after 3 quarters by a score of 99-76. In the fourth quarter the Cavaliers wore out the 76ers. The 76ers were outscored in the 4th quarter by the Cavaliers 27-23. The Cavaliers went on to win their 25th game of the season 126-99.

The leading scorer for the Cavaliers was Darius Garland with 26 points in 26 minutes of play. Evan Mobley had a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes. Up next for the 25-4 Cleveland Cavaliers is hosting the 6-20 Utah Jazz on Monday December 23rd at 7 pm eastern time at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in downtown Cleveland Ohio. Cavaliers’ fans are hoping for a happy holiday week starting Monday night. The way this team is playing now, I’m almost positive they can deliver an early Christmas present