PHILADELPHIA _ If the 76ers wanted to leave the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night with their dignity, they had no choice other than to beat the Toronto Raptors. They did just that in their last home game of 2018, with a 126-101 victory over the East's top team.
The Sixers would have walked away with more bragging rights had the Raptors had their full squad, but the Canadian foe came to Philadelphia missing three of their best players, including All-Star Kawhi Leonard.
Despite not having Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valanciunas _ a trio that scored a combined 80 points against the Sixers in Toronto on Dec. 5 _ the Raptors are one of the NBA's deepest teams and still made things competitive, before the Sixers started to create some distance in the third quarter.
The Sixers stars had their way on Saturday, all getting going early in the game, though it didn't come without some adversity. Joel Embiid finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Ben Simmons notched 26 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, Jimmy Butler added 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, and all three players were charged with a technical foul.
Both Butler and Embiid were given a tech when they were upset with calls or no-calls and were barking at the officials, but Simmons was given his when he walked away from an official and sat down in a courtside seat following a foul call he disagreed with.
Despite the trigger happy referees, who also gave Raptors coach Nick Nurse a technical foul, the Sixers maintained composure and improved to 22-12 on the season while showcasing encouraging developments.
JJ Redick who has struggled from the 3-point range recently, broke out of his slump finishing the night with 22 points including going 4 of 5 from 3 and showed off his range with a half-court shot as time expired at the end of the first quarter. After review the shot was called off, but Redick visibly relieved to see the ball going in from deep throughout the night.
In addition to the Sixers starting core faring well, the team's young players had a great night. Jonah Bolden who has only played in nine games this season, and spent the majority of his time bouncing between the Delaware Blue Coats and the Sixers, was subbed into the game in the first quarter and immediately made his presence known.
Though he air-balled his first shot attempt, he was impressive by anyone's standards on the defensive end. Bolden finished the night with four blocks to go with four points and nine rebounds, and was quick on closeouts that kept the Raptors from getting into a rhythm from outside.
Furkan Korkmaz also had a good night off the bench racking up 16 points. But it was Korkmaz's defensive effort that was most helpful for the Sixers as he added three steals and four rebounds.
The Raptors were able to get going early with strong outings from Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet, who combined for 58 points, but lacking the defensive presence of Leonard, Valanciunas, and Ibaka was hard to make up for.
The Sixers head out on a five-game road trip that starts on Christmas Day in Boston.
