James added nine assists and seven rebounds while Mo Williams chipped in 18 points for a fast-finishing Cavaliers, who trailed 81-75 heading into the fourth quarter.
“Defensively, everyone was on a string,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown told reporters. “Everyone helped one another. Everyone trusted one another. It was great to see.” Philadelphia struggled on 4-of-23 shooting in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers tightened up its defense after the Sixers had scored 30 points in the third to storm into the lead.
“Credit their defense. They’re a good defensive team when they want to be,” Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan said. “They’re going for the gold, man. They’re doing what they think is necessary to win the championship.”
It was the 10th win in 12 games for the Cavaliers (10-4) after losing their first two games of the season.
The Cavs were still without the injured Shaquille O’Neal, who has missed the last five games, as well as playing their fourth game in five days.
“We just turned it up. When we’re playing defense like that at a high level, it’s hard to beat us,” James said.
It was the second consecutive game in which the Cavaliers stifled their opponents with a solid fourth quarter defensive effort after they held the Indiana Pacers to just 13 points in a 105-95 win on Friday.
The Cavaliers dominated the entire final quarter, with an early 18-4 run turning the deficit into a 93-85 lead.
Lou Williams scored 22 and Thaddeus Young added 21 for Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala had 12 points but made just one shot in the final quarter.
“We couldn’t make shots and finish the game off,” Iguodala said after the Sixers slipped to 5-8 with the loss.
