3 observations after Sixers sink to 4th straight loss, fall to Raptors originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers sunk to a fourth straight loss Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
With a 106-103 defeat to the Raptors, the Sixers fell to 13 games under .500 this season at 20-33.
Joel Embiid posted 27 points and 12 rebounds. Jared Butler added 15 points in 16 minutes.
Toronto’s Scottie Barnes had 33 points and 10 rebounds. Immanuel Quickley put up 23 points for the Raptors, who are now 17-37.
The Sixers were down Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management), Eric Gordon (right wrist sprain) and Jared McCain (season-ending left lateral meniscus surgery).
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that he anticipates Lowry’s persistent right hip issue will sideline him for longer than a “day-to-day” timeline. He did not expect Gordon to be available Wednesday night in Brooklyn against the Nets.
Here are observations on the Sixers’ loss to Toronto:
Miserable first few minutes
The Sixers were far from sharp on either end out of the gates. Nurse had to burn a timeout at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter.
Their defensive woes were especially glaring. Maxey and George conceded early shooting fouls to Barnes, biting on pump fakes. Ochai Agbaji sunk a wide-open corner three-pointer.
On the ensuing possession, rookie center Jonathan Mogbo stole the ball from Kelly Oubre Jr. and went the other way for a dunk. The Sixers handled the Raptors’ ball pressure poorly on several occasions and allowed Toronto to score the night’s first nine points off turnovers. Following a Quickley and-one runner and Barnes dunk, the Raptors were up 17-4.
Maxey was very quiet for the Sixers in the first half, going scoreless and only taking one two shots. He’d averaged 16.2 first-half points over his last 18 games, which ranked second in the NBA.
Maxey ended the game with a season-low five points on 1-for-9 shooting.
Paul George’s approach was noticeably more aggressive than usual in the first quarter, though no Sixer had tons of success in a somewhat strange, 18-point opening period. George’s output was modest again in his fourth game since returning from a left pinkie finger injury — 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting, three rebounds and two assists.
Bench gives Sixers some juice
The Sixers used a four-man bench of Quentin Grimes, Guerschon Yabusele, Ricky Council IV and Butler. Grimes started the second half in place of Justin Edwards. For a second consecutive game, centers Andre Drummond and Adem Bona were both out of the rotation.
While the Sixers’ second unit began 0 for 6, their shots eventually dropped. The Sixers made a 16-2 run early in the second quarter featuring long-range jumpers from Grimes and Yabusele, a tricky fast-break layup from Butler, and a stretch of solid defense.
Butler played eight straight minutes to start the second quarter and posted eight points, three rebounds and two assists in the period. He’s good at many point guard fundamentals — pushing the pace while maintaining control; keeping his head up in the open floor; driving and kicking the ball out to open teammates.
The Sixers also got plenty of production from Embiid in the first half. He needed a mere six field-goal attempts to score 17 points, often countering Toronto’s double teams by finding ways to draw fouls.
Embiid had an injury scare late in the second quarter when Orlando Robinson blocked his shot inside and then forced a jump ball. He came up grimacing and holding his left elbow, but the superstar big man remained in the game.
Sixers’ stars don’t deliver late
The early stages of the second half were similar to the first.
Toronto scored freely and the Sixers’ offense was sloppy. Quickley drained two threes and an Agbaji layup gave the Raptors a 64-58 lead. Again, Nurse asked for timeout.
The Sixers missed some shots they normally hit, too. As a team, they opened 4 for 23 from long distance.
Through three quarters, the Sixers faced a three-point deficit. Butler then kicked off the fourth-quarter scoring by knocking down a three and played another nice stint. Excellent work from Butler on a night Maxey was so off his typical game.
Nurse didn’t sub Maxey back in for Butler until there was 4:45 left in the fourth. At that point, the Sixers and Raptors were knotted at 96 apiece. Maxey missed an open three on his first touch.
He drilled a big shot a little later, however, making a step-back three to even the contest at 103-103.
As a star trio, Embiid, Maxey and George squandered quite a few opportunities in the fourth quarter. Embiid missed two free throws late in the fourth. George was long on a go-ahead corner three attempt.
With his team trailing by two points and 20 seconds left, Nurse let his team play instead of calling timeout. Maxey dished to Embiid, who considered a wide-open three but instead took a couple of dribbles and coughed the ball up.
Maxey tried to tie the game with a contested wing three on the game’s final possession, but he came up short.
Not at all what the Sixers envisioned in their first game back home since the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
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