The Philadelphia 76ers held on for one of the stranger wins you’ll ever see Sunday night, defeating the Toronto Raptors 110-104 at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers were in absolute control of the game for 45 minutes. They took a modest five-point lead after the first quarter and extended that to a 15-point margin at the halftime break. Philadelphia continued to build the lead in the third quarter, taking an 18-point advantage into the final quarter.
Things remained on track for much of the fourth, with the lead getting a large as 20, and a Matisse Thybulle three put them up 17 with just 3:16 to go. Then, the Sixers flirted with disaster.
Toronto went to a full-court press and the Sixers were laughably bad handling it. They began to turn the ball over in every way imaginable: steals, bad passes, backcourt violations, eight-second violations. Joel Embiid turned it over on three straight possessions and was yanked from the game. As you would expect, the lead started to disappear and the Raptors closed to within five. Fortunately, Toronto simply ran out of time and the Sixers were able to escape.
Sixers fans are left with a bit of a weird feeling because as bad as the final three minutes were, the previous 45 were very good.
Tobias Harris was excellent, leading the team with 26 points to go with six rebounds and three assists.
Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double, piling up 16 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
Joel Embiid had 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block, but those late turnovers soured his performance and he finished with seven giveaways.
Al Horford chipped in 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal. His presence was invaluable, and two plays really stand out in demonstrating that point. Twice Horford found himself as the only man back on a Toronto fast break, and each time he prevented a bucket, including once on a 4-on-1.
Matisse Thybulle led a nice effort from the bench. He finished with a career-high 20 points on 5-of-8 from 3. He also had three assists, three steals, two rebounds, and a block. James Ennis III chipped in 11, while Mike Scott had eight and Raul Neto had five.
After starting the game 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, the Sixers finished a solid 14-of-32 (43.8%). They dished out 31 assists on 40 made baskets and the defense was very good for much of the game.
It’s a shame that an overall really good performance from the Sixers will be marred somewhat by the shaky finish. But at the end of the day, they controlled virtually the entire game against a very good Raptors team that has historically given them a lot of problems. There was a lot to like about the showing, and hopefully the ending will prove to be a valuable lesson for the team.
The Sixers will continue their homestand on Tuesday when they host the Denver Nuggets.