The 20th game of the season was won by Nick Nurse’s Philadelphia 76ers, who defeated the Toronto Raptors, his previous employer, 121-111.
Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey’s reliable scoring prowess was essential to Philadelphia’s comeback following a challenging first quarter.
Harris, who was named player of the game, finished with a season-high 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Joel Embiid had a very lackluster first half, but he turned things around in the second half, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.
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Story of the game
Despite not exactly being known for their fast starts, Toronto took the game to Philly and amassed a nine point lead in the early proceedings.
The Raptors looked switched on in the first quarter and their efforts on the defensive end certainly would have pleased head coach Darko Rajaković.
It took Embiid 11 minutes to get in on the scoring as the reigning MVP was forced into four early turnovers and very nearly went scoreless in the quarter.
With his 14 points in the first quarter, Pascal Siakam created history. He and Kyle Lowry are the only players in Raptors club history to rank in the top five in terms of points, rebounds, and assists.
The Raptors held a healthy nine point lead and would have been encouraged by their performance in the first 12.
Two minutes into the second, Harris drained a deep step back three to take him to 18 points as well as bringing the Sixers within two points of their Canadian counterparts.
Ten minutes later Harris nailed another three to tie the game up at 54-54 as the forward enjoyed a successful first half on the offensive end.
As half time approached, Harris finished through contact and was fouled, making the free throw to give Philadelphia their first lead of the game.
Embiid finished off the glass to give the Sixers a 58-61 lead heading into the interval as they massively improved in the second quarter.
Early in the third quarter, the Sixers established a rhythm and ultimately took command of the game, jumping out to an eight-point lead in the first few minutes.
Toronto did not appear to be as at ease on defense while Philly was in control, as Maxey and Harris appeared to be consistently successful offensively and Embiid was also finding his rhythm.
Embiid extended his team’s lead to 13 points with a three-pointer with three minutes remaining in the penultimate quarter.
As the score read 89-93 going into the fourth quarter, the Raptors continued to be competitive and ended the quarter on a 9-1 run. They shown their resolve to keep the Sixers at arm’s length by consistently driving to the basket.
Maxey’s back to back threes gave Philly a 15 point lead, the largest of the night as the point guard’s confidence looks limitless as he amounted 33 points and 10 assists in the game.
The 76ers were in complete control in the fourth quarter, and led by 14 with just over two minutes on the clock as they sought their 20th win of the season.
Nurse’s Sixers displayed the fight and resilience to overcome a very solid Raptors side to claim another big win in their bid to push to the peak of the East.