Surging Raptors push record above .500 with win over 76ers,
Raptors climb over .500 with fourth-quarter burst and lockdown D on Sixers star
Raptors 110 76ers 103
NEXT: TUESDAY VS. 76ERS
It’s always about energy with Chris Boucher, and it’s often traditional.
He’s quick and long and fearless and finishes at the rim, and that’s what makes him special. He may not make the right play all the time, but no one does and his effort can be contagious and vital.
On Sunday night it was vitally important, and had little to do with his athleticism, dunking or running the court.
Boucher went on a rather unconscious shooting spurt in the fourth quarter, making three of his career-high five threepointers to provide the spark Toronto needed on the way to a 110-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Chris was ballin’,” teammate Fred VanVleet said. “That’s the luxury of having a gunslinger like him that can get hot at any moment. Just continuing to stay on him. We know how talented he is, and he’s continuing to get better.”
The win was the fourth in a row for the Raptors, who moved to 16-15, the first time this season they’ve been over the .500 mark. It’s not earthshattering, but they have been one of the best teams in the East since a horrendous 2-8 start.
“There’s going to be ups and downs, but I think that we were finding ourselves being able to create an identity,” VanVleet said. “You need to create an identity each year and it just feels like we’re finding that here of late, but we’ve got to keep it going.”
The identity seems to be a team that plays hard and has several different ways to win games. The defence was tremendous in the fourth quarter, holding Philadelphia to 3-for-17 shooting over the first 10 minutes and just 19 points in the quarter.
“If you’re going to play good D, that’s a good time to do it ... we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that,” coach Nick Nurse said.
VanVleet led the Raptors with 23 points, and Pascal Siakam finished with 21. They also combined for 17 assists and made more big plays down the stretch than the vaunted Sixers duo of Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Simmons had 28 points, and Embiid was a terrible 6-for-20 from the floor. á All-star Fred? VanVleet extended his franchise record of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 63 in a brilliant flurry late in the first quarter. He made four straight threes — the second an over-the-shoulder, banked-in number, just beating the shot clock —in the final three minutes as part of a 13-point quarter.
“I do practice dumb shots like that all the time,” VanVleet joked.
VanVleet probably has the best chance of any Raptor to be added to the all-star roster when the coaches’ votes on the reserves are tallied Tuesday. Coaches have to pick two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards at any position. á For starters: The Raptors resisted the urge to change what had been working against one of the most powerful big men in the NBA. Nurse hinted before the game that he might switch from a relatively small starting lineup to deal with Embiid. But it was the usual group that started — VanVleet, Norm Powell, DeAndre’ Bembry, OG Anunoby and Siakam — as the Raptors stayed with the style that had gotten them three straight victories. Aron Baynes did start the third quarter, and played a huge role in holding Embiid to his terrible shooting night. á Davis steps up: The Raptors went back to Terence Davis in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win in Minnesota, after not using him for a few games, because they need a spark. He gave it to them, hitting the game-winning shot, and it earned him a spot in the rotation again Sunday. Davis played 26 minutes off the bench, with eight points.