76ers vs. Cavaliers was incredible. Here’s why

The Cavaliers fought back from down as many as 30 against the 76ers in a late entry for the NBAs game of the year on Friday night. It was the day after Cleveland came back from down 17 points to beat Washington. And for a second, it looked like The King was ready to put on an encore.

Their outcome against Philly, though, wouldn’t be the same. Cleveland never completed its comeback and eventually lost to Philadelphia, 132-130, after LeBron James sabotaged his own late-game heroics with one missed free throw at the end. The miss may have undone a masterful performance from The King, but it doesn’t take away from the fireworks in this game.

If you missed it, here’s how it unfolded.

The 76ers started pulling away by turning defense into offense. Ben Simmons found teammates on the break, and the already troublesome Cavs defense was both gassed in the second game of a back-to-back and out of sync, not communicating with one another.

Meanwhile, Simmons found a new between-the-legs dribble he decided to showcase against the Cavs. First, it helped create an open look for J.J. Redick

Then, he got himself to the rack for a nasty slam.

Philly eventually built their lead to 20 points, then absolutely pulverized Cleveland with an 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter. The Cavs weren’t doing anything right: not inbounding the ball correctly, not getting back in transition. It was the worst display of championship defense as we’ve seen in a long time.

Philly’s lead ballooned as large as 30, but the Cavs were able to cut the lead down to 23 entering the half.

The Cavaliers entered the third quarter a totally different team than the one that stunk it up in the first half. This new team scored 43 points in the third alone to Philly’s 27. LeBron had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting; at one point, he had outscored the Sixers, 15-11, on his own.

The 76ers still shot 45 percent from the field; the Cavs just one-upped them by shooting 71 percent and hitting six threes in the period. All the while, Cleveland got the lead down as low as six entering the fourth. This one got really good, really quick.

This wasn’t going to be a sob story like the Wizards had on Thursday night. Philly had even had its fair share of struggles closing games out down the stretch. It looked like those issues were showing face again.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to pray over Ersan Ilyasova, who was wiped off the face of the Earth after LeBron ran at him with a basketball and ended his career.

Back to the show.

Philly was up eight with 1:34 left in the game. Against most teams, that’s enough cushion to end the game right then and there. But first J.R. Smith hit a three. Then Cedi Osman made one of two free throws before Jeff Green hit a huge triple for his 33rd point of the night. Cleveland was only down one.

Then it happened.

LeBron was fouled on a three and could have tied the game had he made all three free throws. He missed the second one. The game was over.

Friday night’s showdown was a glimpse of the present vs. the future. Ben Simmons has been the heir apparent to LeBron’s throne since he left LSU for the NBA two summers ago. When the two played each other on Friday, it became clear: these two guys not only have a lot of respect for each other; they play a lot like each other, too.

Simmons finished with an incredible stat line of 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals. LeBron put up a wild 44 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. Only one came out with the W.

Simmons then showered The King with praise after the game.

“I’ve got so much respect for him. Probably one of the greatest players to ever play, if not the greatest,” he said. “Tonight, I’m playing the best player to play the game, so I mean, that’s enough motivation right there. And that’s where I want to be one day.”

LeBron returned the favor during his postgame media session, calling Simmons a “student of the game” who is getting better with experience.

“The best teacher in life is experience, and every game he’s experiencing more and more, learning the game,” James said. “Obviously they’re coaching him the right way, coaching him to his strengths, and he’s a student of the game. Obviously I know that probably more than you guys. ... He’s a student of the game, wants to be great and he’s definitely showcasing that.”

There have been a ton of great games in this wild NBA season, but it’s hard to put a finger on one that may have been better than this one. The 76ers moved ahead of the Cavaliers for the No. 3 seed in the East with that victory. Odds are on Philadelphia’s side to retain that standing through their last four games of the regular season.

That means Philly will run into the Boston Celtics if they advance to the second round of the playoffs, while the Cavaliers will matchup with the Toronto Raptors in round two. If the basketball gods smile upon us one more time, we just might see Cleveland and Philly in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the winner taking a trip for a shot at the trophy.