The Philadelphia 76ers fall on the road to the Toronto Raptors behind a strong performance from Fred VanVleet as Josh Richardson leaves early with hamstring soreness.
Josh Richardson left the game only four minutes into the action with a sore left hamstring. The team immediately ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
Despite the injury, the Philadelphia 76ers came out of the gate strong. They had the lead, 16-13, with 6:31 to play before a 13-3 run extended their lead to 29-16. Philadelphia ended the first quarter leading Toronto 35-26.
As the second unit took over for Philadelphia, their offense struggled to generate any easy looks. Toronto dominated the second quarter and held Philadelphia in check to the tune of only 15 points. The teams went into the locker rooms at the half tied at 50.
Philadelphia came out strong in the first six minutes of the second half opening on a 16-6 run. It was all Toronto from there on out. Toronto proceeded to outscore Philadelphia 51-29 the rest of the way.
Two VanVleet threes sandwiched between two VanVleet assists helped Toronto close the quarter on a 10-0 run and give them a 76-72 lead.
The fourth quarter was a microcosm of Philadelphia’s season. They predominately failed to generate consistent offense and saw a nearly four-minute stretch without scoring before the game was out of hand.
Philadelphia will likely be working to replace two starters as they host the Los Angeles Lakers on ABC primetime, Saturday.