TORONTO _ Brett Brown looked forward to Wednesday's game.
The 76ers coach said facing the Raptors in Toronto is "a legitimate litmus test" for his team.
"You come up here," he said. "We have not had success up here. They are one of the East's elite teams, so you always leave the building learning a little bit more."
Based on Wednesday night's outcome, the Sixers still have some work to do and need to drive the lane more.
The Raptors defeated them, 107-95, snapping Philly's four-game winning streak.
The Sixers (29-17) felt good about themselves heading into the game. They were fresh off much-needed consecutive road victories over New York (Saturday) and Brooklyn (Monday) after losing their previous six road games. But the Knicks and Nets were undermanned and struggling squads.
So this was a true barometer of how much the Sixers have improved. They played well but ultimately wore down, losing to the Raptors (30-14) for the 15th consecutive time in Toronto in the regular season.
The Sixers might have shot themselves out of this game.
They made 7 of 14 3-point attempts in the first quarter. However, they made 11 of 32 (34.3%) the rest of the way, including back-to-back 3s by Matisse Thybulle and another by Furkan Korkmaz late in the game. While that percentage was slightly below average, there were times when they would have been better off driving to the basket.
Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 22 points. Ben Simmons had 17 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and eight turnovers. Korkmaz had 17 points, while Thybulle added 13. Al Horford had seven points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 22 points.
The Sixers left Canada with another injured player. Josh Richardson suffered a left hamstring strain early in the game and didn't return. The shooting guard was subbed out of the contest 3 minutes, 52 seconds into it.
This isn't the first time this season Richardson has dealt with an injury. He missed two games with right hip flexor tightness in November. Then in his third game back from that injury, he experienced right hamstring tightness. That sidelined the 26-year-old for six games.
The Sixers will be at a huge disadvantage if Richardson has to miss an extended amount of time. They already are playing without star center Joel Embiid (ligament tear in left ring finger). Wednesday also marked the 45th and final day the team was allowed to have Norvel Pelle on its roster on his two-way contract.
As a result, the next few weeks will be interesting for Sixers, with injuries and potential roster moves.
Even without Richardson, the Sixers gave Toronto some problem for 2 { quarters. However, the Raptors went on a 25-7 run to take an 81-73 lead with 10:28 remaining.
The Sixers got within two points (84-82) on Pelle's foul shot with 7:04 left. But the Raptors kept hitting shots to halt Philly's comeback attempt.
