GRADES: Sixers win defensive battle, end Raptors win streak
By Sam Coltrane
The Sixers made good on the second half of their trip to Tampa as they take down the Kyle Lowry-less Toronto Raptors.
The first quarter kicked off slowly with a Pascal Siakam lay-in giving Toronto an early 8-7 lead with 8:12 remaining. From there, Philadelphia kicked off a 13-0 run that they parlayed into a 37-18 quarter, including a personal 10-2 run by Furkan Korkmaz himself.
The second quarter again started out slowly as the second units struggled to put together consistent production. With 5:33 remaining, Tobias Harris made a layup and extended Philadelphia’s lead to 21 points at 50-29.
The rest of the quarter was all Toronto and a little of Harris. Toronto would close the lead down to eight as the teams entered the half with Philadelphia leading 55-42.
Despite the lead, Philadelphia’s offense scored only seven points over the final 7:07 of the quarter, all of which were scored by all-star snub Harris.
The third quarter consisted of more early offensive humiliation for Philadelphia. A Harris two-point shot was the only basket in the quarter until two Ben Simmons free throws finally, mercilessly broke a scoring drought lasting 11:56.
Philadelphia won this game on the road against one of the hottest teams in the conference. It still is a marvelous fact that an NBA team went nearly a quarter with only one player scoring.
The action picked back up after the tip-in as the teams traded baskets as Joel Embiid poured in nine points late in the third quarter to enter the fourth leading 79-65.
Despite an eventually scoring rush, the fourth opened dreadfully slow again. Several Terence Davis baskets closed the lead to eight before Shake Milton came through with a three-pointer to stop Philadelphia’s 4:20 scoreless streak.
The teams pushed down the stretch with an increased tempo combining for 67 points as Toronto managed to close the lead to five points before Philadelphia would ultimately close out the game, 109-102.
The Sixers ended Toronto’s four-game win streak. In the process, Philadelphia ended its own three-game road losing streak.
PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. A. <strong>36 mins | 23 pts | 7 reb | 5 ast | 1 stl | 2 blk | 1 TO | 8-12 FG | 3-4 3PT| 4-5 FT | 0 PF | +6 |</strong><p>The A should stand for All-star, but I digress. In a night where Philadelphia looked painfully inept at times, Harris remained the course. Harris isn’t the team’s best player, but he has been consistent and efficient while constantly improving. Tonight, was merely another example of Harris’ high floor and complete package as a player.</p>
PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. A-. <strong>35 mins | 15 pts | 9 reb | 7 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 5-11 FG | 0-0 3PT| 5-6 FT | 3 PF | +2 |</strong><p>After just declaring Harris to be Philadelphia’s most consistent player, tell me if this sounds familiar. Simmons played a good game as he filled the box score, made life miserable for guards on the other end, and yet somehow it felt as though there’s so much more to give. By no means was it a bad night for Simmons. It just doesn’t feel great to have such pronounced scoring droughts when Simmons should be leading or taking over. All in all, still a strong game.</p>
C+. <strong>36 mins | 18 pts | 12 reb | 2 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 6 TO | 3-13 FG | 1-1 3PT| 11-12 FT | 4 PF | +2 |</strong><p>Too often Embiid gets a tough grade because the expectations are so high. Today, there will be some leniency. Embiid posted 18 points and 12 rebounds while only attempting 13 shots. Embiid has struggled against Toronto in the past and Seth Curry not being on the court didn’t help. A win is a win and if Philadelphia can win when Embiid struggles, then this will be a tremendous team.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
FURKAN KORKMAZ. A-. <strong>28 mins | 19 pts | 7 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 5-11 FG | 5-11 3PT| 4-4 FT | 2 PF | +12 |</strong><p>Korkmaz stepped into the starting role in place of Seth Curry and didn’t miss a beat. Korkmaz movement on the court is different than Curry’s but produced similar shooting success. Beyond the shooting, Korkmaz provided some much assistance on the boards on his way to a team-high +12. If he continues to play this effectively, perhaps Korkmaz forces his way into the lineup more often.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers
DANNY GREEN. B. <strong>32 mins | 11 pts | 5 reb | 2 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 3-9 FG | 3-9 3PT| 2-3 FT | 2 PF | +6 |</strong><p>Danny Green doesn’t typically get the nicest treatment in this section, but tonight was a reminder that at this point in his career Green still holds strong 3-D capabilities. 11/5/2 with three steals as a fifth starter will work on most teams. It will be tremendous production on a team headlined by three stars.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto faces a quick turnaround as they take off for South Beach to face the Miami Heat tomorrow night. Philadelphia will return home to host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
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