George rattled in six three-pointers on his way to a 30-point haul while point guard Maxey finished with 29 points to set up a badly needed victory for the struggling Sixers.

Philadelphia went into the game on the back of a run of defeats which had seen them tumble out of the playoff places in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-27 record.

The last of those recent losses was a brutal 144-109 pounding on the road against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

A see-saw contest that saw the lead change hands 30 times appeared to have swung decisively in favor of the Sixers in the closing stages of the fourth quarter, with the home side taking an eight-point lead after a layup from George with 1min 26 remaining.

But the Sixers threatened to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after Cleveland closed the gap to a single point with 12 seconds remaining after a Ty Jerome three-pointer.

Yet four free throws from Maxey helped the Sixers get over the line for a morale-boosting victory.

Four other Sixers players also posted double-digit scoring tallies, with Kelly Oubre Jr. finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, while Eric Gordon and Justin Edwards added five points each.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland's scorers with 37 points while Jerome finished with 33 points and Darius Garland 26.

In other NBA games on Wednesday, the Memphis Grizzlies thumped the New Orleans Pelicans 139-126 at home. The Grizzlies' fifth straight win saw them improve to 30-15.

In Charlotte, the Hornets were beaten 102-97 by the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.