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Cavaliers may be stuck with 4-seed after home loss to 76ers on questionable call | Locked On Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to move up in the standings but were denied.

CLEVELAND — Despite leading at halftime, the shorthanded Cavaliers fell at home to the 76ers on Wednesday night, all but securing Cleveland’s fate as the four-seed in the Eastern Conference this season.

In a postgame edition of the Locked On Cavs podcast, hosts Chris Manning and Evan Dammarell broke down why a late overturned call against Joel Embiid changed the tide of the game and how the rest of the season will shape up for the Cavs.

“The Cavs can feel good about the fact that they saw a lot of good individual performances … but in the macro sense, I think it’s just frustrating because Cleveland had a lot of control over this game,” Dammarell said. “But the call against (Evan) Mobley that ended up not being a call … or the fact that the Cavs just kind of fizzled down the stretch again” will hurt.

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Without starting center Jarrett Allen, Cleveland downsized, leaving Mobley to defend the much bigger Embiid, who is on a tear in March. Embiid finished with 36 points and 18 rebounds in the game, and clinched the win with a jumper that was initially ruled a charge but subsequently overturned when Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers challenged the call.

“I think Evan Mobley did about as well as could be expected against Joel Embiid,” said Manning on the show. “Ultimately where this leaves you is the most important thing. This leaves Cleveland I think pretty much locked into the four-seed. Down the stretch, the rest of the year will be about getting reps.”

Cleveland is six games back from the 76ers after the loss, but only two games up on the Knicks and Nets for the four-seed. The Cavs face the Wizards at home on Friday.

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