Just because you are among the worst teams in the National Basketball Association does not mean that once in a while, you cannot put together a memorable upset. On Wednesday, there were two of them as the Cleveland Cavaliers upset the Philadelphia 76ers 108-94 and the Minnesota Timberwolves upset the Miami Heat 129-126 in south Florida.
In the Cavaliers win over the 76ers, Cleveland had a record of 16 wins and 41 losses heading into their home game against Philadelphia (36 wins and 22 losses). There is no doubt that Philadelphia was missing Ben Simmons (out with a back injury). To make matters worse, fellow 76ers star Joel Embiid injured his left shoulder during the game. The Cavaliers were led by point guard Collin Sexton of Marietta, Georgia, who had 28 points, center Tristan Thompson of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (14 points and 13 rebounds) and power forward Larry Nance Jr. of Akron, Ohio (13 points and 15 rebounds).
In the Timberwolves win over the Heat, Minnesota was at 16 wins and 40 losses, while the Heat were at 36 wins and 21 losses. Miami also entered the game with an excellent record of 23 wins and three losses at home, while the Timberwolves had only won nine times on the road (second fewest wins in the Western Conference). Minnesota meanwhile was led by shooting guard D’Angelo Russell of Louisville, Kentucky, who had 27 points.
Miami and Philadelphia are currently in fourth and fifth place respectively in the Eastern Conference and could play against each other in the quarterfinals. With half a game separating them in the standings, both teams are comfortably in a playoff spot. There is no doubt they would love to have home court advantage in the first round. While Miami has only four home losses all season long, the 76ers only have two losses on their home court in 2019-20.
