The 76ers didn't look like themselves on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fans were given flashbacks to "The Process" years when Philadelphia went down 22-8 in the first quarter, eventually falling to the nearly last place Cavs. But Ben Simmons knows the culprit for the disappointing showing: gravy.
Simmons blamed "Thanksgiving food" for the team's poor performance against the Cavs in a press conference. The loss snapped a home-court winning streak of 20-straight games that extended into last season. 76ers coach Brett Brown was less playful with his answer about why the Sixers got torched on their own floor.
"We had no spirit," Brown said. "We didn't play defense in front of our home fans. We're at home. That's a game that you win."
76ers fans have had reason to celebrate this season. After the long, dark years earlier this decade, the team has finally delivered on all that fan trust with a mostly positive season and the acquisition of several young superstars. The Cavaliers weren't buying into the media narrative around either team on Friday, though.
"We're not really going to look at our record and count ourselves out of any game," Cavs coach Larry Drew said. "We knew it was going to be a tough task. We knew we had to be on point on both ends of the floor. I'm just happy our guys played with the effort and energy they did. And it finally paid off."
The Sixers are currently 3.5 games back with the 3rd best record in the Eastern Conference. They have gone 4-2 since Jimmy Butler finally ended his tumultuous tenure in Minnesota to join the team.
