The Philadelphia 76ers continue their road woes as they fall to the Toronto Raptors for their sixth road loss of the year as Joel Embiid goes scoreless for the first time in his career.
Toronto had a plethora of starters sitting out, but that didn’t stop them from remaining competitive throughout the game. The Philadelphia 76ers’ late game struggles plagued them again as a turnover late in the game by Ben Simmons ultimately sealed their fate.
The game remained tight throughout with neither team having a lead greater than six points at the end of a quarter.
Toronto opened the game strongly, taking an 8-0 lead before Philadelphia stormed back to lead the first quarter 34-28.
As the second quarter played out, Philadelphia’s offense fizzled. They managed only 15 points in the second quarter and were left trailing Toronto 51-49 at the end of the first half.
The third quarter was tight back and forth as well, with the quarter with leaving Toronto up 81-80.
The fourth quarter looked like it would go the way of the more talented team through the first eight minutes. A Josh Richardson jumper gave Philadelphia a 96-91 lead with 4:03 remaining. Those would turn out to be the last points Philadelphia would score. Toronto closed the game on a 10-0 run as a combination of turnovers and poor shots resulted in Philadelphia’s demise.
Marc Gasol’s defense was tremendous, but it also was indicative of a problem that many Philadelphia fans have been pointing to for years… an inability to close.
Philadelphia will look to change their fortunes around and continue their undefeated streak at home playing the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, October 27th.
A happy thanksgiving to all!