The Toronto Raptors hit the road on Wednesday night for a matchup with division “rival” Philadelphia 76ers. As expected, the Raptors were able to leave the City of Brotherly Love with a win.
Toronto has dominated the head-to-head matchup between these clubs over the past few seasons, winning 14 in a row. Here are five takeaways from the Raptors’ 123-114 victory.
Trying to Tuck Them in Early
The Raptors have established themselves as the parents of the Atlantic Division, and have not seen their authority challenged much of late. The 76ers are certainly the toddlers of the division, and it showed once again on Wednesday. Like children bugging their mother and father to stay up late and watch television, the Sixers played the Raptors tight in the first half, and only trailed by six points at halftime.
That’s when Toronto tried to put the kids to bed, outscoring its hosts by 12 in the third frame. It looked like a blowout would ensue in the final period, but the 76ers refused to accept their fate, trimming a 19-point deficit down to as few as five with under a minute to play. Despite the dicey score, it never truly seemed like the Raptors were in jeopardy of losing.
DeMar DeRozan led the way with a seemingly effortless 31 points, marking the 13th time the all-star has netted at least 30 points in a game. It’s worth noting DeRozan did not play a minute of the fourth.
The First Joel
76ers rookie sensation Joel Embiid didn’t suit up when these teams met on Nov. 28, making this the Raptors’ first look at the impressive big man. Entering Wednesday night’s action, Embiid was averaging 18.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in under 24 minutes a night. The 22-year-old is able to score with his array of post moves, but is also a capable deep threat, hitting 44 per cent of his three-point attempts.
Embiid finished with one of his weaker stat lines of the season, posting just nine points and six rebounds while mired in foul trouble for much of the evening. Still, if there’s one piece on the 76ers right now that looks like a franchise cornerstone moving forward, it’s the former third overall pick.
Lineup Shakeup
Raptors coach Dwane Casey decided to alter his lineup to start the third quarter, tapping Patrick Patterson in place of Pascal Siakam at power forward. The move provided Toronto with a little more offensive spark, while also throwing a different look at Embiid on the defensive side of the ball. The change paid immediate dividends as the Raptors really seized control of the game during the third quarter. Siakam will likely return to the starting unit on Friday, but the temporary swap is sure to spark discussion amongst the team’s fan base.
Ross’s Redemption
There’s no denying it, Terrence Ross is one of the NBA’s top dunkers. The former Slam Dunk Contest champion (two-time champ if you count the weird team format from 2014) was extra popular on social media on Monday after his botched windmill attempt in the Raptors’ blowout of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ross certainly made up for the blunder on Wednesday as he intercepted a pass and took it coast-to-coast for a highlight-reel slam late in the second quarter.
But was that even the night’s best dunk?
Return of the Yak
With reserve centre Lucas Nogueira out of commission with a sore right knee, rookie Jakob Poeltl was thrust back into the rotation for the first time in nearly a month. Poeltl has seen the floor during garbage time recently, but his last meaningful action came all the way back on Nov. 18.
The Austrian struggled in the first half, picking up three fouls and missing his lone shot attempt from the field on a pick-and-roll look. The Raptors were forced to go with a small lineup after Poeltl exited with his third foul, and that’s when the offence really started to click. Casey elected to leave his young big out of the rotation in the second half, electing to give Norman Powell more burn in the guard-heavy set. If Nogueira is out for multiple games, Toronto will need Poeltl to shake off that rust to keep the “Lowry-and-reserves lineup” as dominant as it has been of late.