3 observations after Sixers lose to 13-0 Cavs despite McCain's 34-point performance 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are observations on the Sixers' loss Wednesday to Cleveland:

Extremely impressive first McCain start

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

Though he came up empty on his next four shots, McCain’s decision-making was strong. He looked comfortable both on and off the ball, pushed the pace often and put regular pressure on Cleveland’s defense. McCain drove and kicked to Caleb Martin for a corner three that gave the Sixers a 21-17 lead. 

“Instead of reading my defender, I’m reading the back-side defender,” McCain said of his playmaking progress. “Or I’m not even reading the first help-side (defender), I’m reading the second on the back side. And seeing if the big is pulling over, seeing if the help is crashing down to the baseline person or is going to lift up to the wing. … It’s just certain things that are slowing down.

“Whenever I jump, I can even make a decision in the air. But that’s going to come with time. I think reading defenses is going to come with time and watching film on it.”

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

One reason McCain has tended to be less turnover-prone 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 accumulates NBA reps, it's increasingly clear that McCain can reliably create bread-and-butter shots for himself in the mid-range.

The Sixers’ offense as a whole was much different without their stars. They attempted 26 threes before drawing their first free throw. Along with McCain, Martin (18 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (20 points) drilled 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 apparent at times. He committed a turnover in the backcourt when he grabbed a defensive rebound and then tossed 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, competed for rebounds and effectively contested Evan Mobley inside on a couple of occasions. Bona finished with four points — a tip-in and put-back dunk — and nine rebounds in 17 minutes.

“He did great,” Nurse said. “I thought he was lively. He didn’t really make many mistakes, right? 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 rejoined the Sixers’ rotation after DNPs 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 entered 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 initially struggled. He rushed, tried to thread 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.

McCain and the Sixers kept plugging away, though. 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 stuff in his career. They even threw one possession of box-and-one on him there, which was pretty interesting. I was thinking, ‘Man, that’s pretty high-level respect to throw that on a rookie.’

“But he had it going. Again, I just think that he’s creative enough with the ball, he’s strong enough off the ball to get himself free, and he can shoot deep and he can drive it. He’s got a lot of skill sets and he’s using ‘em all.”

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

“I just attribute it to my work,” McCain said of his latest standout 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 more off ball, so it’s definitely a learning process there — cutting back on turnovers and just reading the game a little slower.

“But I feel like I’m finding my shot, whether it’s the 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 win No. 13.