After a dominating performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, the Raptors fall to Nick Nurse and the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time in less than a week 114-99.
The Raptors drop their second road game of the season. Toronto once again got off to a great start in this one thanks to Scottie Barnes. He had 12 of his 24 points in the first quarter. Barnes led all Raptors scorers and finished with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Barnes is the youngest Raptor to record 20+ points in at least 5 straight games since Chris Bosh in 2006.
The 76ers went on a big run at the end of the second and third quarter to steer momentum away from the Raptors. Joel Embiid led the way for the 76ers with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. The 76ers had 5 players finish this game in double figures.
Meanwhile, outside of Barnes the Raptors didn’t get a whole lot. O.G. Anunoby chipped in with 16 points and Dennis Schroder had another double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
Pascal Siakam who struggled in the first matchup of the season against the 76ers on Oct. 28 had another poor performance. Siakam only scored 10 points on 5/11 shooting. He also had 5 personal fouls. This is concerning that Siakam has had two bad performances to start the season, both coming against the 76ers. Siakam needs to play with more consistency if the Raptors want to win these kinds of games.
The bench continues to struggle for Toronto as well. They outscored the 76ers bench 11-0 early on but then didn’t do much. Gary Trent Jr. continues to be a non factor. He only had 8 points on 2/8 shooting. The expectation was that Trent Jr. was going to have a big season as the Raptors sixth man and lead the second unit but so far he’s gotten off to a rough start.
Jalen McDaniels who played with Otto Porter Jr. out, scored his first points of the season. Rookie Gradey Dick struggled and finished with 0 points in 13 minutes.
The Raptors three point shooting was down in this one (36 percent) and they turned the ball over 19 times.
Next on tap
The Raptors will have two days off and then they will play Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
The Spurs have been a pleasant surprise so far this season at 3-2 and Wembanyama looks like the real deal. Toronto will be in tough here.
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