Lowry’s return no relief for Raps
Guard ice cold during matinee against Sixers
• It was the classic case of too little, too late with the Toronto Raptors taking an afternoon nap when they should have been balling from the opening tap.
The Raptors did fight back to within one, but a poor finish resulted in a 117-111 win for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joel Embiid led the way for the young Sixers with a game-high 34 points.
Toronto never led at any point, falling behind by as many as 21 points.
“Terrible ,” was Kyle Lowry’s self- assessment of his first game back after suffering a bruised tail bone last week.
“I was terrible. Maybe it’s part of the process. I’ve got to get better, get back in rhythm. It’s only one game, bad shooting game. I’ve got to keep working and get better.”
Philly set the tone by scoring 32 first-quarter points.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there was no love lost as the game had an edge to it. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was handed a technical foul, while Lowry and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons were both ejected.
Asked to explain what happened with Simmons, Lowry said: “I don’t know. I guess he thinks he’s somebody.”
Lowry played just more than 37 minutes, going 3-for16 from the floor.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 24 points.
Casey lamented the Rap- tors’ poor defence to begin the game, the way his players turned down open shots and the zero three- pointers scored in the first half.
“I was afraid we were going to come out flat and this team (Philly) was jacked up,” Casey said. “We have to get our motors going no matter who we play. It can’t just be for Cleveland and Golden State.
“It has to be every night and be consistent with that focus and alertness.”
The way the game turned feisty is how Casey wants to see his players play from the start and not simply wait until their backs are against the wall.
“A team is challenging you and you have to come out with spirit and I don’t mind (playing with an edge) as long as guys are playing under control, are keeping their focus and not allow officiating to take us out of what we want to do,” he said.
The Raptors lost guard Fred VanVleet in the third quarter.
“He got knocked down,” said Casey of VanVleet, who was helped off the floor when he suffered a knee contusion. “And I guess when he fell down a guy stepped on his knee.”
Even as VanVleet was l ying on the court, play continued as the officials allowed the ball to get inbounded.
“Unbelievable,” Casey said. “And then ( J. J.) Redick turns his ankle, he steps on my guy and he calls a foul on my guy to stop play so (Redick) can go out of the game.
“Again, ( officiating) consistency in our league is unbelievable. We’ve got to get that under control because one night it’s one thing, the other night is another thing. Consistency is a key word.”