The Toronto Raptors fall short against the Philadelphia 76ers 114-107. Nick Nurse made his highly anticipated return to Toronto and got the win.
The Raptors were without O.G. Anunoby in this one who was out with muscle cramps. Toronto’s defense couldn’t stop Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Both scored 34 points a piece.
Maxey came alive in the second quarter and on. He hit 7/9 threes. Meanwhile, Embiid did most of his damage inside as the 76ers outscored the Raptors in the paint 50-34.
Philadelphia took full control of this game outscoring Toronto 35-20 in the third quarter.
Turnovers were once again an issue for the Raptors. They turned it over 13 times.
Also, Pascal Siakam’s role with the Raptors remains unclear. Siakam finished with just 11 points and only took 8 shots. He was a non factor in the second-half.
This was quite surprising to see. Siakam averaged a career-most and team-high 18.5 shots last season and didn’t take fewer than 10 in any of his 71 games. Gary Trent Jr. who started in place of O.G. Anunoby took twice as many shots as Siakam.
The Raptors three-point shooting was much better in this one and it kept them in the game. They shot it 53.1 percent from three. Dennis Schroder and Gradey Dick both made 4 threes a piece.
Dick was a big bright spot for the Raptors in this one. He led the second unit with 16 points on 5/8 shooting from the field and he was 4/6 from deep in a season-high 28 minutes of action. Dick was a huge spark for the Raptors offense.
Also, Scottie Barnes continues to look impressive. Following his triple-double performance in Chicago on Friday night, Barnes had another great outing against the 76ers. He had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists on 11/16 shooting and 2/5 from three. Barnes was aggressive when he needed to be and played solid defense as well. Barnes had two blocked shots.
In the end though, Nick Nurse gets the win over his former team as the star play for Philadelphia was too much for the Raptors to overcome.
Next on tap
The Raptors now find themselves 1-2 after back-to-back loses.
They will have the day off on Sunday and then they will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 30.
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