The Sixers did not exactly ease into Thursday night. They dug themselves out of an early hole, absorbed a brief Joel Embiid scare, and still walked away with a 123-112 home win over the Raptors to bounce back from their blowout loss to the Celtics.
Philadelphia improved to 10-3, while Toronto dropped to 5-7. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 27 points and eight assists, and Embiid finished with 20 points despite leaving briefly after the first-quarter collision. RJ Barrett powered Toronto with 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley added 26 points and six assists.
The Sixers were missing LeBron James (low back/sciatica management), Adem Bona (cervical spine sprain), Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear). The team said Thursday morning that Bona will be re-evaluated in approximately one week, while Barlow took part in shootaround and also went through a pregame workout on the Xfinity Mobile Arena floor.
There is no formal timetable for his return. Toronto was without Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes.
Embiid’s night took a nervous turn early. After setting a screen and getting tangled up in an apparent knee-to-knee collision with Ja’Kobe Walter, he stayed down and grabbed at his right knee.
The Sixers called timeout with 8:30 left in the first quarter, and Embiid eventually got up with help from teammates and Sixers head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson before limping to the locker room. Jabari Walker checked in for him.
A few minutes later, the building exhaled when Embiid returned. He came back at the 5:26 mark of the first quarter to a loud ovation, but Philadelphia still had work to do. Toronto’s lead grew to 32-16 after a Jamison Battle three-pointer, forcing Nick Nurse to burn a timeout.
The first quarter ended with a little momentum shift thanks to Anfernee Simons, who knocked down a buzzer-beating three to trim the deficit to nine. From there, the Sixers started to settle in against a Raptors team playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Simons opened the second quarter with another three, then Jaylen Brown hit a mid-range jumper and VJ Edgecombe threw down a dunk to put Philadelphia in front 35-34. Brown and Edgecombe were the spark in that stretch, and the Sixers clearly leaned on both of them while working through a thin rotation.
The bench group was limited to Walker, Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who finished with 11 points and five assists. Dean Wade also handled center minutes behind Embiid.
Philadelphia and Toronto were tied 60-60 at halftime, and the game stayed tight for much of the third quarter. Then Maxey took over the tempo. His speed turned into a late 11-0 run, and the Sixers suddenly had room to breathe.
That burst came from the kind of pace Philadelphia wanted all night. Maxey raced in for a layup, then pushed the ball ahead to Brown for an easy basket.
Brown later found Simons for a three, Walker finished a fast-break layup, and then he drilled a three on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Just like that, the Sixers were up 101-87.
Brown, Edgecombe and the bench kept the pressure on early in the fourth, and Philadelphia closed it out without any late stress. The only real late-game flourish came when the crowd got its wish and Tacko Fall checked in for a final-minute appearance.
In Other News...
Sixers Just Lost Another Possible Answer Behind Embiid
The Sixers search for frontcourt stability has become a familiar subplot, and it only got a little more complicated with Dwight Powell now settling in with Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague after the Mavericks moved on from him. Philadelphia has been working through a shortage of dependable backup centers, a problem made worse by injuries and a thin free-agent market that has not offered many clean solutions behind Joel Embiid.
Powell was the kind of veteran stopgap the Sixers could have used as they try to survive the long stretch of the season without overtaxing Embiid. Instead, they will likely have to keep looking for another body and another layer of insurance at center, because the current options do not offer much security if the rotation gets tested again. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Got The Relief They Needed After Joel Embiid's Early Scare
Joel Embiid gave the 76ers an early scare against Toronto when he went down with a knee injury, a moment that briefly shifted the mood in a game Philadelphia was already trying to manage without LeBron James in the lineup. The Raptors were shorthanded themselves, missing Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, but the bigger concern for the Sixers was whether their centerpiece would be able to continue after the opening jolt.
Embiid did return, and Philadelphia steadied itself enough to pull away for a 123-112 win after a sluggish start. Tyrese Maxey and Anfernee Simons helped spark the offense with key plays when the Sixers needed them most, turning what could have been a nervous night into a much-needed result. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Suddenly Have A Dominick Barlow Question That Matters
Dominick Barlows return to the floor is still a work in progress, but his presence at shootaround ahead of the 76ers game against the Raptors was at least a sign of movement. Barlow has been working back from a back injury, and while there is still no confirmed timeline for when hell be available again, simply getting through a pregame session is a step forward for a team that has been juggling its frontcourt depth.
The Sixers ruled Barlow out for the upcoming game, which keeps the focus on how they patch together the rotation in the meantime. With multiple injuries already thinning the front line, every bit of progress matters, and Barlows status is one more development worth tracking as Philadelphia tries to stabilize a part of the roster that has been under pressure. [Read more 🡒]