PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 126, Toronto Raptors 101
In its final home game of the year, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted a short-handed Toronto Raptors squad that had been successful without Kawhi Leonard in the past.
Yes, the Raptors were without Sixer-killer Jonas Valunciunas and Serge Ibaka due to injury and Kawhi Leonard because of ‘load management’. For some reason Toronto felt they needed Leonard to beat Cleveland on Friday and he has not played both ends of back-to-back games so far.
The Raptors had been just fine without him. Going into Saturday, Toronto was 7-1 when Leonard was out of the lineup, including wins over the Golden State Warriors and both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers.
Plus, the Raptors had reinforcements. Starters Kyle Lowry and Danny Green played on Saturday after sitting out the last few games with injuries. Coach Nick Nurse admitted before the game he was ‘surprised’ Lowry was available. Of course, being a Philly native, Lowry undoubtedly wanted to play in his hometown.
The Philadelphia 76ers were not at full-strength either, as Wilson Chandler was out with a quad contusion. Mike Muscala started in his place and was quickly benched with foul trouble, which gave Jonah Bolden a chance for some rare first-quarter minutes. He responded with three blocks and three rebounds (and an ugly three-point try) in his first few minutes of action.
After trailing by a point after the first quarter, the 76ers took care of business and rolled to a 126-101 victory over the Raptors. Toronto falls to 25-10 on the season, with the Sixers now 2.5 games behind them in the Atlantic Division standings at 22-12.
The Sixers certainly got no favors from the referees. Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid all got hit with technicals, as it seemed any time a Toronto player flopped or pretended to draw contact the whistle blew.
The Raptors were scrappy and only trailed by six late in the third period before J.J. Redick (22 points, 4-5 from three-point line) and Furkan Korkmaz each hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the quarter. Korkmaz and Redick opened the fourth with each scoring a basket to build the Sixers lead to 95-79 and they were never really challenged after that.
The first half was good for anyone playing who was born in Cameroon. Embiid had 23 points while the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam scored 20 points as the 76ers held a 65-58 lead at halftime.
B+. <strong>28 mins | 27 pts | 11 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 10-15 FG | 0-0 3PT| 7-9 FT | 3 PF | +15|</strong><p>With the two players who usually guard him out, Embiid feasted in the low post. He did not even attempt a three-point shot as he was able to get position inside. He had 23 points at halftime as he played little in the fourth period with the game in hand. Only downside was he made a few poor decisions passing.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
<strong>25 mins | 4 pts | 9 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 4 blk | 3 TO | 1-3 FG | 0-1 3PT| 2-2 FT | 3 PF | +14|</strong><p>This was Bolden’s coming out party. With starting power forward Wilson Chandler out and Mike Muscala hit with two quick fouls at the start, Bolden, who had played basically nothing but garbage time, was needed in the first quarter. He responded with three blocks and three rebounds just in his first three and a half-minutes of play and looked like he belonged the entire game. Afterward, coach Brett Brown said he expects Bolden to be in the rotation on their West Coast swing.</p>. F-C. Philadelphia 76ers. JONAH BOLDEN. B
<strong>34 mins | 26 pts | 12 reb | 8 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 11-13 FG | 0-0 3PT| 4-6 FT | 2 PF | +17|</strong><p>In their first two meetings with Toronto, Simmons struggled, coughing up an average of nine turnovers. The Kawhi-less Raptors were helpless against him. He had a season-high 26 points, only missed two shots, and even hit a nice turnaround jumper in the lane. Was just two assists shy of a triple-double. Got hit with ‘T’ for sitting in the stands in frustration after getting called for a foul guarding Kyle Lowry, who knows how to fake the contact very well.</p>. G. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. A+
B. <strong>29 mins | 12 pts | 7 reb | 7 ast | 3 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 4-10 FG | 0-2 3PT| 4-4 FT | 3 PF | +7|</strong><p>While not as flashy in his performance as Embiid, Simmons or … Jonah Bolden?, Butler had a solid all-around game. Not his best shooting performance but he helped with the rebounding, passing and on defense. Did not lead any major category but one of those stat-sheet stuffing games that Butler has done a lot since the trade.</p>. F. Philadelphia 76ers. JIMMY BUTLER
A-. <strong>19 mins | 16 pts | 4 reb | 0 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 6-9 FG | 2-5 3PT| 2-3 FT | 0 PF | +18|</strong><p>The Kork popped big-time. After a recent shooting slump, Korkmaz awoke by sinking two-thirds of his shots. Just as important, a few came in clutch situations, knocking down a three-pointer at the end of the first and third periods and he had a big fast-break layup to start of the fourth. he contributed on defense, not usually his strength, with three steals and no one except Redick (+26) finished with a better plus/minus.</p>. G. Philadelphia 76ers. FURKAN KORKMAZ
Before the game, general manager Elton Brand held a press conference.
He said that Markelle Fultz and Zhaire Smith will both be with the team in Boston on Christmas Day for the nationally-televised game, but will not play.
He said they expect Smith at some point to join the team this season. He would give no date on Fultz’s return and said he was doing strictly physical therapy at this point.
Next. 2019 NBA Mock Draft 3.0. dark
The 76ers will not have a home game again until Jan. 5.