I don’t blame you if you haven’t been following 76ers basketball over the last few weeks, considering they’ve been non-existent on the NBA landscape for a number of years. As such, the outcome may come as a bit of a shocker, but it shouldn’t. Philadelphia has been playing solid basketball for a little while now, and had racked up 6 wins in their previous 8 games. None of those wins were against top quality opponents however, and tonight was the home team’s chance to make a statement to the NBA, to their fans and to themselves – the Sixers are an NBA team again. And Joel Embiid and his squad took that chance.
Q1 – Sullinger’s Return
With Nogueira and Patterson not dressed, Siakam was thrust into the starting lineup once more. Toronto opened the game with a number of uncomfortable possessions, as Carroll was blocked awkwardly, Siakam turned the ball over for no apparent reason, and Lowry stepped out of bounds. At the other end, a Robert Covington triple gave Philadelphia an early 7-0 lead. Kyle Lowry finally broke the voodoo hold on the rim with a three of his own, and Siakam blocked Ilyasova as the Raptors showed signs of life, only to be shut down with a three by the Turk on the ensuing inbound play. A hot potato Raptors possession then resulted in a fast break Ilyasova dunk and Casey’s first timeout of the contest, 16-7 Philly.
Two nice dishes from Lowry to Valanciunas cut the lead to 6, before the event Raptor fans have been waiting for since the pre-season finally took place. At 5:16 left in the quarter, Toronto’s summer acquisition from the Boston Celtics, Jared Sullinger, entered the game.
Sully quickly showed his utility, executing strong screens, cutting inside for a layup before the shot clock expired, and getting an offensive rebound and putback. Sullinger recorded 6 points and 3 rebounds in the first quarter (he would slow down the rest of the way, ending with 8 and 3 in 14 minutes).
A Ross three brought the Raps within two, and a Sullinger bucket following a Powell block tied the game at 21. A score from Embiid and a pair of free throws from Henderson helped Philadelphia close the opening frame out strong, 25-21, as the Raptors struggled to put points on the board (DeRozan missed all 6 of his field goal attempts in the quarter).
Q2 – A Seesaw Affair
Joel Embiid came out energized to start the second period, blocking JV and following that up with a made three-pointer to stretch the lead to 7 again, 29-22. Lowry and Joseph carried the Raptors offense early in the second, tying the game at 31 apiece. Later, VanVleet scored on a wild layup to give the Raptors their first lead of the night, 37-36. It’s nice to see the undrafted rookie get some minutes even with both Raptor point guards healthy and playing. He earned that opportunity with his solid outing against Brooklyn.
The Raptors took two consecutive charges as the second quarter rolled on (Carroll and Lowry), indicating that the time had come to step on the pedal and create some separation from the home team. With 2:15 left in the quarter, DeMar DeRozan finally scored his first field goal of the night, giving Toronto a 2-point lead, 42-40. Philadelphia did not make it easy for the Raptors, even forcing a 5 second violation on the last play of the half. 46-44 Sixers after 2 hard fought and offensively below-par quarters (37% for the Raptors from the field, 38% for the 76ers).
Q3 – Status Quo
The third period continued at a slow scoring pace, as back to back threes from Ilyasova gave Philadelphia the lead after the Raptors had opened up a 4-point margin of their own, 54-52. With 6:31 left to play, Carroll exited the game following a scary collision with Pascal Siakam. He took a while to get off the floor and gingerly walked to the locker room, sparking fears of yet another serious injury. Luckily, it was diagnosed as a sore neck soon after, his tests coming back clear.
The Sixers continued playing aggressively on defense, and did not allow the Raptors to get into any sort of offensive flow. Even when Lowry would hit a three, often a signal of an oncoming avalanche, nothing of the sort followed. The game remained close despite the Raptors’ inability to score thanks to Philadelphia’s relative offensive impotence (ranked dead last in the NBA in offensive rating).
In spite of that, each time Toronto thought they were about to take the game over, Philly hit back. Whether a Noel dunk or a shot clock buzzer beating Henderson triple, the Sixers refused to let their lead slip. A thunderous putback dunk by Powell with just under two minutes left in the frame brought the Raptors within one, and gave hope that the second year player would recover from his recent unremarkable stretch of games. As the quarter drew to a close, Ross hit a three to trim the lead to a single point once more, but an easy Rodriguez layup sent the teams to the huddle with the Sixers up 3, 68-65.
Q4 – The Return of the Philadelphia 76ers
The seesaw continued as Lowry hit a shot from long range, only for Embiid to respond with a forceful dunk at the other end and another triple to extend the lead to 7, 75-68. This spurred Casey to call a timeout, while Embiid electrified the crowd with his play and hand gestures. Lowry got called for a foul and a technical, unfortunately not the kind that would fire the team up in its wake.
Even with Embiid on the bench, his attitude proved contagious, as Philadelphia continued playing tough defense, culminating in a ‘bad man’ Saric block on Sullinger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97NO0jB5bPo
Saric continued being active, getting an offensive putback and a three soon after, taking the lead to 7 once more, 81-74 with less than 6 minutes remaining. DeRozan decided to take over at that point, scoring four straight points to cut the lead to three, but Terrence Ross missed an open three. Even in a tight fourth quarter situation, the young Sixers continued to keep last season’s conference finalist at bay.
DeRozan hit a floater after he and Embiid exchanged buckets to cut the lead to just 1, 85-84. On the ensuing play, Toronto’s leading scorer took a charge against Philadelphia’s outstanding rookie at a crucial point in the game. DeMar then scored another 2-pointer to give the Raptors the one-point lead. It appeared as though finally, Toronto was about to break through.
A DeRozan miss led to a T.J. McConnell layup at the other end, and DeMar’s setup for an open Joseph triple was for naught as Cory missed. The Raptors then fouled McConnell at the other end. With the made free throws, it became a two possession game with just 35 seconds to go. Out of the timeout, in the defining double play of the evening, Lowry got blocked by both Covington and Embiid. Just like that, Toronto’s 14-game dominance over Philadelphia had ended.
Joel Embiid is the truth. In addition to his undisputed talent, he appears to be a leader and a bit of a crowd pleaser, as he fired the fans up throughout the game, which in turn fed the entire roster. Philadelphia appears to be a different team than the one we are so used to seeing.
Yes, the Raptors should have done better. They should have shot better than 39% from the field, better than 25% from three. 89 points represent the franchise’s second worst offensive output this season, and the missed free throws did not help the cause. Nonetheless, credit must be given to the Sixers, who gave a full 48-minute effort defensively in a game they saw as a statement matchup, racking up their 7th win in their last 9.
With the competition for the Raptors at its fiercest with the Boston Celtics this season, and the Knicks always being fun to play, the emergence of the young 76ers in the coming years will make the Atlantic division much more formidable than in years past. Wins will no longer be a formality when Philadelphia is on the schedule, and though that may cost Toronto a few wins down the line, the possibility of another inter-divisional rivalry is an exciting one.
All in all, this is a disappointing loss to a below .500 club, but these things happen in a long NBA season. Onto the Hornets Friday night.
