Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Dion Waiters was smiling ear to ear as he prepared to make his fourth start of the season.
Waiters was back in his hometown, with what he referred to as “countless” friends and family in attendance to watch him at the Wells Fargo Center.
But Waiters was introduced with the starters and then pulled from the lineup, as the Cavs were reportedly finalizing a three-team trade to bring J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland from the New York Knicks.
With Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson back in the locker room, also involved in the trade chatter, the Cavaliers went on to squander a big lead, losing in stunning fashion to the 76ers, 95-92.
The Cavaliers were already playing without LeBron James (left knee and lower back), Kyrie Irving (lower back) and Anderson Varejao (torn Achilles). The trade precautions left them with nine players for the game.
The game came down to the final minutes when the Cavs, who led by 17 points at one time midway through the third quarter, gave up a driving layup to Tony Wroten with 9.1 seconds left. That gave the 76ers a 93-92 lead.
Matthew Dellavedova, who missed two critical free throws in the final minute, had a chance to win it for the Cavs. But he missed a driving layup, and Kevin Love missed a tip-in on the rebound. The Sixers grabbed the board and Robert Covington made a pair of free throws with a second left to ice the game.
The Cavs got off to a slow start, leading Philadelphia, the worst team in the NBA, by just one point at the end of the first quarter, 20-19. Once again it was Love leading the way early. The Cavs made 9-of-21 from the field, with Love connecting on five of those makes. Love finished the quarter with 11, continuing his stellar start to the New Year, and finishing with 28 points and 19 rebounds in 37 minutes.
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