The 76ers’ process continues with 4th-quarter success against the Cavaliers

The 76ers are a young team. They’re on the tail end of a process that has given them two legitimate stars for the future. There’s no way they should hang with the purported favorites to return to the NBA Finals, Kevin Love injured or not. Not this 76ers team. Not this soon.

But that kind of thought went out the window after Philadelphia pulled off a wire-to-wire win over the Cavaliers Thursday night, 108-97. Cleveland, the favorite to reach the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season, never once led a game they were expected to win.

Philly led by as many as 13 points. And even when LeBron James powered his Cavs to a 14-5 run that cut the Sixers’ fourth-quarter lead to as little as three, they never relented. For a game — just one game — it looked like the 76ers were the team to beat. Like they were a better team than the one with the best player in the world. For a moment, it looked like the 76ers had finally figured it out after years of toiling at the bottom of the standings.

Let’s not jump the gun. Cleveland isn’t a championship contender without Love. His ability to stretch the floor, crash the boards, and create offense in the low and high post isn’t easily replaced, not even after a series of blockbuster trades.

The 76ers are the second-worst fourth-quarter team in the NBA. Entering Thursday night, they averaged just 24.8 points in the final period, according to data from NBA.com. Only the Memphis Grizzlies are worse. Philly is also a middle-of-the-road team in crunch time — the final five minutes of a game within five or fewer points. Seventeen teams are better than the 76ers during that period, according to NBA stats. Given their track record, it seemed a late-game meltdown was inevitable.

But this time, it was Joel Embiid, whose saucy turnaround fadeaway quelled a late Cavs’ push.

It was Ben Simmons who found Dario Saric for a contested corner three, who then turned around and stared the Cavs’ bench down as he got back on defense.

All told, Philly outscored Cleveland, 31-26, in the fourth. And it was the 76ers, those same young, inexperienced 76ers, who looked like seasoned veterans closing out the Cavs in the fourth quarter.

Could it be due to some tactical buyout market acquisitions? Possibly. The 76ers picked up Marco Belinelli, then waived Trevor Booker to make room for Ersan Ilyasova. Shooters on shooters. And with J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, Philly has quite the veteran presence to help guide their young core.

What’s clear is that this 76ers team is maturing right before our very eyes. Sure, Cleveland isn’t anywhere near where it wants to be come playoff time. They’re short an all-star and are still incorporating new players into the system.

But Philly conquered one of their biggest demons Thursday night: their own fourth-quarter selves. Trusting the process continues to bear fruit.