YOUTHFUL SIXERS MAKE RED-HOT RAPS SWEAT DOWN THE STRETCH
DeRozan’s career-high 45 points help Toronto erase 22-point deficit in Philly
On the tail end of a road backto-back, the Toronto Raptors were forced to clean up their own mess.
Facing a 76ers team without both Joel Embiid and J.J. Redick, the Raptors dug themselves a 22-point hole early in the third quarter and then worked their behinds off to get back in the game.
Much of the comeback came on the strength of Toronto’s reserves with Delon Wright coming up big with 12 points and four assists in a bench-high 27 minutes. But to gain the win, it was back to the starters and that meant more DeMar DeRozan and more Kyle Lowry.
Lowry wound up with 23 points.
But as DeRozan will tell anyone that will listen, he’ll play the game that is needed and when it came down to crunch time, it was the DeRozan of old getting to the line and converting that eventually put this one away in a 114-109 win.
He scored a career-high 45 points, 11 coming in that fourth quarter. It marked the 10th time in his career he has gone over the 40-point mark, something only Vince Carter can also claim in a Raps uniform.
The comeback from 22 down matched the second largest in team history and easily set the high for the season with 17 being the previous biggest comeback this season.
The Raptors turned the ball over a season-high-tying 21 times and the Sixers returned the favour with 23 of their own, but it was exciting and the fifth win in a row for the Raptors, who have also won 11 of the past 12.
The teams will go at it again Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre.
JUST PLAY IT STRAIGHT
The Sixers are going to have to get a little more customer friendly. Calling Embiid “probable” an hour before declaring him out like they did Thursday is just not going to fly with the paying public.
Embiid has a back issue. That is not in dispute. But telling the public there’s a better-than-average chance he will play and then reversing that decision an hour later is going to upset a fan base that shows up at a game believing one scenario, only to be fed another.
This isn’t denying fans on the road the chance to see a legit NBA talent, this is messing with your own fan base. It’s corporate stupidity and not even the most loyal fan will stand for this kind of treatment.
Chances are good that anyone who bought a ticket to see Embiid in Toronto will also be disappointed, but the Sixers aren’t going to sweat over that.
DON’T FORGET SIMMONS
There’s no question Embiid is garnering the brunt of the attention in Philadelphia basketball circles, but Ben Simmons is healthier and good in his own right. Having sat out all of what would have been his first year in the league, Simmons is a polished rookie at just 21.
He’s still more of a pass-first guy, but as a six-foot-10 point guard, he poses a lot of problems to opposing teams.
“His size,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said of the biggest problem Simmons poses. “His ability to handle the ball, change speeds, he’s got that down pat now where if you go under, he beats you to the other side. He just has an uncanny ability with the basketball. He sees things that other players don’t see with his size and just his length. He shoulder hits with power and force if you get up close to him and bump him. He knows how to use his shoulders, bump you and get you off him, then get to the rim and finish.”
Simmons was the lone remaining healthy marquee player active for the 76ers Thursday and while he still doesn’t look for his shot as much as he should, he’s becoming more aggressive in that regard.
But to gain the win, it was back to the starters and that meant more DeMar DeRozan and more Kyle Lowry.