PHILADELPHIA _ The Sixers did what the Sixers do.
They blew a lead in the second half en route to suffering yet another loss.
This time, it happened against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. The Raptors battled back from a 22-point, third-quarter deficit to take a 114-109 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
The loss dropped the Sixers _ who were without starters Joel Embiid and JJ Redick _ to 14-17 and extended their losing streak to four games. This also marked their eighth setback in nine games. Meanwhile, the Raptors (22-8) have won five straight.
The inability to stop DeMar DeRozan was a key factor in the loss.
The Raptors' three-time All-Star finished with a career-high 45 points while making a career-high six 3-pointers in nine attempts. Fifteen of DeRozan's points came in the first quarter as he went 4 for 4 on 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, Philly native Kyle Lowry, another three-time All-Star, added 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists. He had seven turnovers.
Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 20 points, while Dario Saric added 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Their performances didn't stop the Sixers from falling apart after intermission.
The home squad had a commanding 22-point lead (76-54) after Robert Covington's 3-pointer with 9 minutes, 9 seconds left in the third quarter. But the Raptors went on a 22-2 run to pull within 78-76 on Serge Ibaka's pair of foul shots with 3:23 remaining in the quarter.
Toronto went on to knot the score at 84 with 1:13 left in the third before taking the lead, 101-100, on Lowry's three foul shots with 4:42 remaining. The Raptors extended their lead to six points (107-102) on an Ibaka's layup.
The Sixers closed the gap on Simmons' foul shot with 1:31 left. They had a chance to take the lead, but Covington misfired on a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining. The Raptors went on to get a five-point cushion after DeRozan made a pair of foul shots with 6.4 seconds left.
Embiid missed his third consecutive game with tightness in his back. He was listed as questionable after being a partial participant in Thursday morning's shootaround. Then he was listed as probable about an hour before the game.
At the time, coach Brett Brown said the final decision would be made after Embiid participated in his pregame warm-ups. He looked fine in the light workout and even danced a little on the court. However, Embiid was ruled out 30 minutes before the game.
He isn't expected to play on Saturday against the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
Meanwhile, Redick, out with right hamstring tightness, is doubtful for Saturday's game as well.
