3 observations after the Sixers lost to the 13-0 Cavs despite McCain’s 34-point performance

3 observations after the Sixers lost to the 13-0 Cavs despite McCain’s 34-point performance originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jared McCain starred Wednesday night for a Sixers team in all its All-Stars.

The rookie guard was fantastic, scoring 34 points and dishing out 10 assists.

But the shorthanded Sixers didn’t quite have enough firepower to hand the Cavs a stunning first loss. Cleveland improved to 13-0 with a 114-106 win at the Wells Fargo Center.

Darius Garland posted 25 points and six assists. Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

The 2-9 Sixers were without Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain), Joel Embiid and Paul George (dealing with left knee injury). Andre Drummond was also out with an illness.

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Embiid and George will be available for the team’s Friday night matchup with the Magic. He also noted that George’s minutes restriction has been lifted.

Here are observations from the Sixers’ Wednesday loss to Cleveland:

Extremely impressive first McCain start

McCain looked right at home in his first NBA start, hitting a three-pointer to put the Sixers on the scoreboard.

Although he came up empty on his next four shots, McCain’s decision-making was strong. He looked comfortable both on and off the ball, often pushing the tempo and regularly putting pressure on Cleveland’s defense. McCain drove and kicked to Caleb Martin for a corner kick that gave the Sixers a 21-17 lead.

“Instead of reading my defender, I’m reading the back-side defender,” McCain said of his progress in the game. “Or I don’t even read the first help page (defender), I read the second one on the back. And see if the big pulls over, see if the help crashes down to the baseline person or has to lift up to the wing. … It’s just certain things that slow down.

“When I jump, I can even make a decision in the air. But that comes with time. I think reading defense will come over time and watch film about it.”

The 20-year-old finished with 16 points, four assists and no turnovers in the first half.

One of the reasons McCain has tended to be less prone to turnovers than most rookies is his eagerness to shoot all kinds of jumpers, especially in transition. With a 6-for-13 night, McCain is now 20 for 52 (38.5 percent) from three-point range. And as he racks up NBA reps, it’s increasingly clear that McCain can reliably create bread-and-butter shots for himself in the midrange.

The Sixers’ offense as a whole was very different without their stars. They attempted 26 threes before making their first free throw. Along with McCain, Martin (18 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. drilled. (20 points) some difficult shots.

Sixers go to Bona, deep bench players

The Sixers had to deal with major size disadvantages defensively. As a near necessity, rookie Adem Bona played backup center.

Bona’s inexperience was evident at times. He committed a turnover in the backcourt when he grabbed a defensive rebound and then threw a shaky outlet pass that George Niang picked off. The UCLA product had to learn the nuances of NBA pick-and-roll coverage on the fly — positioning, footwork, timing — and conceded a few easy layups.

However, he ran the floor hard, fought for rebounds and effectively battled Evan Mobley inside on a few occasions. Bona finished with four points — a tip-in and put-back dunk — and nine rebounds in 17 minutes.

“He did well,” the nurse said. “I thought he was lively. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes, did he? That’s always a big starting point — don’t do things that are going to hurt us. … He played hard and did a good job.”

KJ Martin, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson all joined the Sixers’ rotation after DNPs came in Tuesday night’s loss to the Knicks. Ricky Council IV also got 11 minutes

Jackson’s scoring (13 points on 5-for-7 shooting) was a significant plus off the bench. He hit three jumpers early in the second quarter, including a corner three that put the Sixers up 39-32. They went into halftime with a surprising six-point lead.

No shocker in the cards

Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro guarded McCain to start the second half and played high-quality, physical defense well beyond the three-point line.

McCain struggled at first. He hustled, tried to force passes through traffic and committed three turnovers in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Cavs made a run and took a 69-64 lead on an Okoro three.

However, McCain and the Sixers kept making stops. An Oubre put-back layup with 3.1 seconds left in the third quarter cut the Cavs’ advantage to 82-78.

“I think he just kept playing through it,” Nurse said of McCain. “He’s probably seen some of that in his career. They even threw a box-and-one possession on him there, which was pretty interesting. I thought, ‘Man, that’s pretty high respect to throw that on a rookie. ‘

“But he had it going. Again, I just think he’s creative enough with the ball, he’s strong enough off the ball to get free and he can shoot deep and he can drive it. He’s got a lot of skills, and he uses them all.”

Cleveland scored steadily at the start of the fourth quarter, but McCain responded regularly at the other end. The Sixers also stayed close through hustle and timely offensive rebounds. McCain was fired up after hitting a catch-and-shoot three that trimmed the Cavs’ lead to 98-96 and screamed in celebration.

“I just attribute it to my work,” McCain said of his latest outstanding performance. “I work so hard, so I feel like I need these games. I’m starting to learn more, being a lead guard. In college, I was off the ball more, so it’s definitely a learning process there — cutting down on the turnover and just read the game a little slower.

“But I feel like I’m finding my shot, whether it’s mid-range, getting to the rim or shooting the three. I’m just trying to continue what I can and always continue to work hard.”

In the end, a shocking Sixers win was not in the cards. Mitchell made three clutch three-pointers, including a step-back dagger over McCain, and Cleveland secured victory No. 13.