“We allowed them to put a little bit of doubt in our minds early, but we figured it out,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

After the game, Embiid — scheduled to be a starter in the All-Star Game in Utah on Sunday night — indicated that he may sit the game out due to lingering left foot soreness that has been officially marked on the Sixers injury report since the club’s trip to the West Coast in late December. Embiid mentioned that doctors had told him that getting off of the foot was necessary in order to prevent the injury from getting worse.

“I was trying to get the All-Star Break without missing games” Embiid said. “But I think that I may have reached the point where I need to follow the doctors advice. We’ll see how the next few days go.”

Embiid passed the 10,000 point mark early in the first quarter. He accomplished the milestone in his 373rd game — the fastest in franchise history ahead of Allen Iverson’s 378.

“I can only think what if I didn’t miss all these games, but that’s not where the focus is,” Embiid said. “I’m just focused on what I can do to help the team. Whether it is scoring a lot, passing, defensively- then I’m going to do it.”

Philadelphia hit its first six 3-pointers and 11 of 14 shots from the floor to jump out to a 31-10 lead. The Sixers led by 28 early in the second half.

Cleveland rallied in the second half in part because of its ability to move the ball around and force turnovers. The Cavs forced nine turnovers in the second half, turning them into 20 points while just turning the ball over once.

“They did a great job of physically out of our stuff,” Bickerstaff said. “They were aggressive on both ends of the floor and it took us too long to recover from that first punch. We showed what we are capable of in the second half with 17 assists and just one turnover.”

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Danny Green made his return to the Cavaliers lineup on Wednesday night, scoring three points in about 12 minutes. Green — who played three games for Memphis this season before being traded to Houston and being eventually waived — was drafted by the Cavs in 2009. Bickerstaff indicated that Green’s role will be as much mentor for a young lineup as opposed to on the floor. “We know his game his ability to make shots and defend, but our group needs as much information as they have,” Bickerstaff said. ... Ricky Rubio was inactive for Cleveland with a non-COVID illness.