The Toronto Raptors did their job against Joel Embiid. When you’re facing the Philadelphis 76ers, that’s always the No. 1 priority. The problem, however, was at the other end of the floor.
Just two nights after Toronto dropped 110 on the 76ers, the Raptors couldn’t get anything easy on Tuesday night, falling 109-102 to the 76ers in Amalie Arena.
The key to stopping Embiid on Tuesday night was swarming him with bodies and making him pass out of the post. Toronto went right back to that on Sunday, but this time the 76ers weren’t missing the kickout passes. Philadelphia shot 7-for-12 from 3-point range in the first quarter alone.
For Toronto, the offence was very much the opposite. The Raptors couldn’t buy a 3-pointer early on in the game. They shot 7-for-26 from behind the arc, repeatedly missing good looks. Fred VanVleet alone missed 10 3-pointers through the first 36 minutes.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Raptors were staring down an almost unsurmountable 14-point hole.
They did make it competative. Toronto moved away from that 3-point shooting and attacked the rim repeatedly down the stretch. They showed their competativeness, refusing to go away and cutting the 76ers lead to just five with just 10 seconds to go in the game, but Philadelphia wouldn’t miss their free-throws late.
Philadelphia overcame a 3-for-13 perforance from Embiid thanks to 23 from Tobias Harris and 19 from Furkan Korkmaz.
Norman Powell led all Raptors with 24 points.
Fred VanVleet Snubbed in All-Star Voting
The Raptors 26-year-old guard did not earn a spot in this year’s All-Star game. He was beat out by James Harden, Julius Randle, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine, Ben Simmons, and Nikola Vucevic who were named Eastern Conference All-Stars.
Up Next: Miami Heat
The Raptors will make the short journey over to Miami tomorrow to take on the Heat at 8 p.m. ET.
