The three biggest takeaways for the Sixers after the road loss to the Cavaliers

The Philadelphia 76ers were shorthanded on Saturday when they visited the NBA front-runner Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Sixers still had Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to rely on, that wasn’t enough as they lost 126-99 on the road to the Cavs.

Maxey had 27 points while George had 11 on 4-for-12 shooting on the night. Kelly Oubre Jr. had nine points and five rebounds, while Ricky Council IV contributed 11 points off the bench. It was a tough night overall for the Embiid-less Sixers against a strong Cavs squad.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the loss:

George fights

The Sixers need George to provide greater offense on nights when Embiid cannot play. When he scored 33 points in a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 16, that’s the kind of performance the Sixers regularly need in cases like this. He shot just 4 of 12 in this game while shooting just 1 of 4 from distance. The Sixers will need more points from him in general down the stretch, but especially on nights like this when Embiid is on the sideline.

Maxey stays hot

Maxey began the season with a cooler streak from 3-point range, but in the last three games he is shooting 15 of 33 from distance, a rate of 45.4%. He shot 5 of 10 from distance against the Cavaliers, which is a big sign of things to come for him and the Sixers. Philadelphia will need more of this as time goes on. He did have some issues getting to the basket in this game, but the Sixers are sure to win the 3-point shot.

3 points difference

The Cavaliers hit 22 triples on the night while Philadelphia only made 11. The Sixers found it difficult to create open looks from beyond the arc, and the Cavs were able to create many open looks from deep due to their ball movement and speed of play. The Sixers usually play at a faster pace when Embiid is not on the court, but Philadelphia couldn’t keep up with the Cavs in this game, leading to the big 3-point difference. Darius Garland, in particular, had a great shot in the third quarter to keep the Sixers at bay.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: The 3 biggest takeaways for the Sixers after the road loss to the Cavaliers