The Cleveland Cavaliers handled business Monday night with a 115-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Arena. The result pushed Cleveland to 40-25 and kept the Cavs in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It also came one day after a tough home loss to Boston, giving Cleveland an immediate chance to reset and respond. James Harden led the way with 21 points, while Keon Ellis added 19 in a game that was comfortable on the scoreboard but still revealing in several important ways. 

Philadelphia was badly shorthanded, which matters when reading too much into the final margin. Reuters reported that the 76ers were without Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and VJ Edgecombe, stripping nearly all of their top-end firepower from the lineup. That made this less about survival and more about evaluation for Cleveland, especially with the playoffs getting closer and the Cavs still refining how their top pieces fit together. 

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