3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following loss to Cavaliers on the road

The Philadelphia 76ers were short-handed on Saturday when they paid a visit to the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Sixers still had Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to lean on, it was not enough in a 126-99 loss to the Cavs on the road.

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 added 11 points off the bench. It was an overall tough night for the Embiid-less Sixers against a strong Cavs roster.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the loss:

George struggles

The Sixers need George to have bigger offensive nights when Embiid can’t play. When he had 33 points in a Dec. 16 win over the Charlotte Hornets, that is the type of production the Sixers need on a regular basis in instances such as this one. He shot only 4-for-12 in this one while shooting only 1-for-4 from deep. The Sixers will need more scoring from him as they move forward, in general, but especially on nights such as this one with Embiid on the sidelines.

Maxey staying hot

Maxey began the season on a cold streak from 3-point range, but is shooting 15-for-33 from deep over his last three games which is good for 45.4%. He shot 5-for-10 from deep against the Cavaliers which is a huge sign for both him and the Sixers moving forward. Philadelphia will need more of this as time moves forward. He did have some issues in this one finishing at the basket, but the Sixers will certainly take the 3-point shooting.