Takeaways: Simmons, Embiid too much for depleted Raptors

Kyle Lowry returned to the lineup after missing four games but the Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Toronto Raptors.

There’s no doubting the Philadelphia 76ers are contenders in the Eastern Conference, just as there’s no doubting that in their first two meetings this season, the Toronto Raptors have had their number.

Prior to Saturday night, the Raptors were 2-0 in their season series with the Sixers, winning by an average of 14 points. That trend did not continue.

Despite the return of Kyle Lowry and a closely contested first half, Philadelphia dominated the rest of the game to exact revenge and cruised to a 25-point victory.

Toronto was fighting uphill all night. Not only were the Raptors undermanned with Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka sitting out, but, on the second game of a back-to-back, it was their first game in Philadelphia this season, where the Sixers extended their league-best home record to 16-3 following their convincing 126-101 win.

Here are takeaways from the Raptors’ loss on Saturday night:

The Kawhi Effect

During the Raptors’ first two meetings against Philadelphia, Kawhi Leonard brutalized Ben Simmons on defence, forcing Simmons into a whopping 18 turnovers (not a typo).

With Leonard not playing and OG Anunoby guarding the Sixers’ young star, Simmons shined on Saturday. He was able to get past the Raptors’ first line of defence throughout the night, finishing with several dunks, impressive no-look passes to teammates and even more impressive passes in transition.

Simmons shot 11-of-13 from the floor, scoring 26 points to go with 12 rebounds and eight assists … And just one turnover.

Embiid and Siakam go toe-to-toe

In need of a go-to scoring presence in the absence of Leonard, Pascal Siakam did his best to carry the weight on Saturday from the opening tip. He did a typically good job of carving up the Sixers’ defence early and finished the first half with 20 points on an array of slick takes to the basket and crafty moves like this:

He finished the game with a team-best 26 points, tying his season-high. Since missing last week’s game versus Denver, Siakam is averaging over 19 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals over his last three games.

But Philadelphia had an answer in Joel Embiid, who has gone a long way to establishing himself as the NBA’s premier centre through Christmas. Embiid feasted on the Raptors early — they really missed Ibaka in this one, with Greg Monroe starting in his place — and led all players with 23 in the first half.

Like Siakam, he was quieter in the second-half, when Philly’s three-point attack helped sink the Raptors — J.J. Redick made three of his four three-pointers while the Sixers pulled away in the third quarter — but still finished with a loud 27 points and 11 boards, his league-leading 28th double-double this season.

Lowry’s return

Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse said that he was “fairly surprised” that Lowry was good to go after missing his last four games. Lowry was expected to be out until after Christmas, but with extended break following Saturday’s game, he still gets an opportunity for rest and recovery while helping to give the Raptors a lift against an important East opponent in front of a hometown crowd in Philadelphia.

There were certainly no signs of rust from Lowry, who looked to get his shot early and finished with 10 points in the first quarter.

Lowry wound up with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists in 31 minutes, and, if Saturday was any indication, should be good to go when the team returns after the break.

C.J. Miles’ disappearing act

The 2018-19 season has not been kind to C.J. Miles. His body language reads of someone desperate to snap a slump but is infuriatingly unable to make it happen.

Even with Leonard out and the need for the bench to help pick up minutes at small forward, Miles seemed virtually out of the rotation. He played 12 quiet minutes, going 1-for-4 from deep.

On the roster mainly for his three-point abilities, Miles is now shooting just 28.6 per cent from beyond the arc this season. After a somewhat promising showing during the Raptors’ recent West Coast trip, Miles has hit another major lull, scoring seven points combined in his last three games.

He’s been overly forceful with his shot and drive attempts, and the frustration is palpable. He’s a 37.5 per cent three-point shooter over his last six seasons but there have been few signs of that player so far this year.

On a night where the Raps shot just 25 per cent from three, they could’ve used the type of shooter Miles has been through his career until this season.

The Raptors got decent minutes from Norman Powell, who scored 13 points in 25 minutes, granted many of those came when the game was already decided, and Danny Green played for long stretches at small forward in a two point guard lineup featuring Lowry and Fred VanVleet. VanVleet struggled as well, hitting just five of his 14 shots.

Toronto now goes on a mini-break over the next few days — on a team nursing injuries left, right, and centre, call it one of the few benefits of not being tabbed to play on Christmas Day as part of the NBA’s marquee showcase.

The Raptors won’t play again until next Wednesday — long enough that they can put this loss behind them.

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