What is the story about?
Perhaps the win should have been easier but they looked damn good doing it.
In their first throwback night of the season, the Sixers took down the Toronto Raptors 130-120 Saturday night.
Once again the leading scorer, Tyrese Maxey went for 31 points along withs seven assists going 12-of-24 from the floor. Joel Embiid, in 26 minutes of play, continued to look more like himself, finishing with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting
VJ Edgecombe had another quiet night but had some big baskets down the stretch,
finishing with 1 points and seven rebounds shooting 5-of-15. Jared McCain was available, but did not appear.
Trendon Watford took full advantage of his first start, picking up his first career triple-double with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists — those last two being career-highs. Kelly Oubre Jr. went for 19 while Immanuel Quickly and RJ Barrett led Toronto with 22 apiece.
The Sixers are now 6-3 this season. They’re right back at it at home against the red-hot Detroit Pistons Sunday night.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was quite the offensive start on both sides as the Raptors made their first six shots of the game. The Sixers weren’t quite as crisp, having a bit of trouble with double teams, but were soaring on the offensive glass to keep pace. They swiped three offensive rebounds for five second-chance points in the first four minutes of the game.
- A big driver of Philly’s hot start was Watford, who had earned his first start as a Sixer. He brought the ball up a fair bit which helped with how aggressive Toronto was with their double teams and presses. He got all the way to the rim several times with ease, and also had a couple cuts to the block as he put up 11 points in the opening quarter.
- That was hardly enough to keep with the scorching pace the Raptors started with. The Sixers’ defense in the half court wasn’t as bad as it’s been, but they were once again a disaster in transition. The Raptors got out to a 16-5 advantage in fast break points. Saying they were on fire from deep would have been an understatement — they made eight of the 10 three-pointers they took, giving them a 10-point lead after one.
Second Quarter
- It was somewhat of a miracle the Sixers only turned the ball over three times in the first because it felt like they were fumbling just about every pass. They gave it away a couple of times to start the second as they weren’t dealing with the doubles — or the Raptors’ heavy pressure in general— well at all.
- Actually being able to hold onto the ball helped the Sixers put together a couple of good possessions, as did defending. Quentin Grimes got the offense rolling again with a couple of threes, then it was Embiid who powered the run. He was able to seal off his defender just about every time down the floor, going for nine points in this shift.
- One interesting note is that Jared McCain did not appear in the half at all. He was listed as available, though before the game Nick Nurse talked about him being on a heavy minutes restriction. It was also reported that like earlier in the week he wouldn’t be available for both legs of this back-to-back, so it’s possible the team would rather him play against the Pistons.
- As he has been all season, Oubre was a huge part of the Sixers’ offensive success in the quarter. He hit an absurd turn around jumper that gave them their first lead since the opening minutes. They were able to continue that momentum and take a five-point lead into halftime.
Third Quarter
- Offensively the Sixers were able to carry that over into the second half. Embiid continued to get easy looks in the post, as was Maxey playing off of him in their two-man game. Defense is where that third quarter flatness showed itself. They gave up a couple bad offensive rebounds, and gave the Raptors a couple three-point plays with really cheap fouls on layups.
- Most of Maxey’s best games this year have come with a barrage of three-pointers, but he was dazzling in this one from inside the arc more often. He was getting to the basket at really impressive angles against a long Raptors defense. He was also flying all over the place on defense, picking up a couple really nice blocks from behind. His buddy, Watford, also picked up a big block in the quarter and continued to be a force driving towards the basket himself.
- The only other third quarter the Sixers have played nearly as well as this was their Cup loss to Boston, and yet they still couldn’t avoid a weird stretch that allowed the Raptors to claw back. Like that Celtics game, they let a couple long rebounds turn into easy transition opportunities. The Sixers couldn’t come up with that made basket to stop that momentum, and saw their double-digit lead shrink to just four because of it.
Fourth Quarter
- The race against time was very much on as Embiid was out there to start the quarter, already at 20 minutes played for the night. He would sit again after the first two minutes, but not before he got another trip to the line and knocked down a three to help extend the lead.
- In general, the Sixers’ offense has definitely not been as reliant on Embiid in years past, but they struggled to keep rhythm every time he left the floor which allowed the Raptors to claw back. It didn’t help that it wasn’t just Maxey who struggled from deep. Over halfway through the fourth the Sixers were 28.6% on their three-point attempts.
- The shots Edgecombe was missing early didn’t look bad, but he took a back seat once other guys were getting going. After another transition basket for him, he finally was able to score in the half court. Off a pair of drives he hit a nice turnaround jumper, then got all the way to the hoop. That was the start of the Sixers finally putting this one away as Oubre came up with a big offensive rebound on the following possession. They were able to win the game at the line from there. In another example of the vibes being back, Embiid danced quite spiritedly to “Hit the Road Jack” when Scottie Barnes fouled out.
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