PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 39 points, Evan Mobley's dunk with 4.8 seconds left was the winner and the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers completed a two-game sweep of the 76ers in Philadelphia with a 117-115 victory on Friday night.
Donovan Mitchell added 13 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers defeated the 76ers 133-107 on Wednesday.
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Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, center, tries to get past Cleveland Cavaliers' De'andre Hunter, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe, left, goes up for a shot past Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, left, and Philadelphia 76ers' Quentin Grimes collide during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) goes up for a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley (4) and Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley, center, dunks between Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, right, and Joel Embiid during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Joel Embiid scored 33 points and Tyrese Maxey had 22 points, nine assists and five steals for the 76ers.
Cleveland was without Darius Garland (right big toe soreness) and Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), who were both injured on Wednesday. Coach Kenny Atkinson said both will be reevaluated when the team returns to Cleveland this weekend.
The 76ers looked in control when Paul George hit a jumper with 8:47 remaining for an 11-point lead. But the Cavaliers used a 13-2 run, capped by De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer with 5:53 left, to tie it at 102. Philadelphia moved ahead by seven points after turnovers by the Cavs on three straight possessions, but Cleveland hung around.
Hunter’s layup with just over a minute left put the Cavs up a point. After Mobley made one of two free throws with 22.7 seconds remaining, Maxey tied it on a runner with 8.1 seconds left. After a timeout, Tyson set up Mobley near the basket for an easy dunk to put Cleveland in front by two. Maxey’s shot from just beyond half court that could have won the game went long.
Dominick Barlow was back in the lineup for Philadelphia after leaving Wednesday’s game early due to a back contusion. He was questionable entering the contest and finished with two points.
Cavaliers: Host Oklahoma City on Monday.
76ers: Host Indiana on Monday.
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Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, center, tries to get past Cleveland Cavaliers' De'andre Hunter, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe, left, goes up for a shot past Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, left, and Philadelphia 76ers' Quentin Grimes collide during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) goes up for a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley (4) and Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley, center, dunks between Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, right, and Joel Embiid during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
DALLAS (AP) — The mess in Texas may be just beginning.
Four-term Sen. John Cornyn and his allies spent nearly $70 million to survive the first round of the party’s nomination fight on Tuesday. He was slightly ahead of conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, with more votes still being counted on Wednesday.
Both now advance to a May 26 runoff election that Republicans fear could be even uglier and more expensive than the first contest.
“It's judgment day for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn said on Tuesday night.
But whether any level of attacks can stop Paxton — who has long been shadowed by allegations of corruption and infidelity — remains unclear, especially as he fashions himself as the kind of Make America Great Again warrior President Donald Trump needs in Washington.
Paxton was defiant when speaking to a few hundred supporters at a Dallas hotel ballroom, a far different scene than Cornyn's small press conference.
“We just sent a message, loud and clear, to Washington,” he said. “We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.”
Republicans are sweating the runoff because the 83-day sprint takes place as operatives in both major political parties acknowledge that Democrats have an unusually solid chance of winning a Senate seat in Texas this year, something that hasn't happened in nearly four decades.
Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, who Republicans immediately attacked as a far-left extremist — even though they privately consider the 36-year-old Christian progressive to be a stronger general election candidate than his primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
The Texas contest is playing out as Trump fights to maintain control of Congress for his final two years in the White House. Republicans are more confident about keeping their majority in the Senate than the House, but a competitive race in Texas could scramble the map, or at least consume resources that the party needs in more competitive states like North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
Republican leaders in Washington insist that Cornyn has the best shot, especially after he finished ahead of Paxton in Tuesday's primary, with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt finishing a distant third and conceding. Cornyn's campaign argued that a runoff wouldn't even be necessary if it wasn't for “Wesley Hunt's vanity campaign.”
“Paxton’s problems aren’t just an issue in a Republican primary; they also threaten to put the Senate seat at risk due to his lack of strength against Democrat nominee Talarico," a memo from Cornyn's team said.
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
“The D.C. establishment has done its job: it rallied around its wounded incumbent, opened the fundraising spigot, and flooded the airwaves. But the results, the data, and the reality on the ground all point to the same conclusion: John Cornyn has no viable path to the Republican nomination,” the pro-Paxton Lone Star PAC wrote in a memo. “Cornyn should suspend his campaign, concede the nomination to Ken Paxton, and refuse to allow another $100+ million in Republican resources to be burned in a race that is already decided.”
The only person who might be able to forestall the intraparty fight, or at least limit its fallout, is Trump. But the president has declined to endorse a candidate in the primary, describing all of them as “great,” and it was unclear if anything would change in the runoff.
Without Trump's support, Cornyn made it clear that he would make the case himself. He told reporters that Paxton would be “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans" in November.
“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”
Cornyn will face intense fundraising pressure, having already spent so much money in the first round of the primary. Aides said he had some small fundraisers planned but nothing in the days immediately after this week's vote as he returns to Washington.
In addition, Paxton's allies are confident that the political landscape will tilt in the attorney general's favor.
“The casual and moderate Republican voters who are most likely to support an establishment incumbent are the least likely to return for a runoff,” said the memo from the Lone Star PAC. “The committed conservative activists who form Paxton’s base are the most likely to show up.”
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
