Leonard back with a bang as Raptors down Sixers

KAWHI Leonard scored 31 points as the Toronto Raptors bounced back from their first loss of the season to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in a hardfought NBA Eastern Conference duel on Tuesday.

Leonard, who had been rested in Toronto’s defeat against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists after the Raptors saw off a late charge from the Sixers to seal a 129-112 win.

The victory saw Toronto improve to 7-1 while the Sixers are 4-4 after another uneven performance from Brett Brown’s side.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 points while Kyle Lowry added 20 for the Raptors, who built up a comfortable 35-26 lead in the first quarter to take control of the contest thereafter.

“Good bounce back, good win,” Lowry said afterward. “It was a good win. We were very active tonight, we were all over the place. It was a very scrappy night defensively and our guys played really great on defense.”

Toronto led 67-53 at half-time and looked to be cruising until a fightback from the Sixers late in the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer from Joel Embiid got the Sixers back to within striking distance at 117-111 with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter before Toronto went on a 12-0 run to clinch the game.

Cameroon star Embiid led the Sixers with 31 points while Robert Covington had 15 points. JJ Redick had 13 off the bench.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, it was: Trail Blazers 104, Rockets 85; Celtics 108, Pistons 105; Thunder 128, Clippers 110; Cavaliers 136, Hawks 114; Kings 107, Magic 99; Hornets 125, Heat 113; and Grizzlies 107, Wizards 95.