TORONTO — Tobias Harris placed his hands on his head as he lost the ball with about five minutes to play in the third quarter, then pleaded his case to the official while trotting to the other side of the court.
It was not exactly the typical reaction while Harris was in the midst of collecting his first-career triple-double. But it was an appropriate one while facing a pesky, shorthanded opponent that the 76ers could not fully shake until the final minutes.
Harris finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists to complement Joel Embiid’s 36 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Sixers to a 114-109 victory Tuesday night in front of a 50%-capacity crowd at Scotiabank Arena.
It was not an efficient shooting night for Harris, who finished 3-of-12 from the floor. But he had already totaled eight rebounds and eight assists by the end of the third quarter, and manufactured 13 points at the line — including two go-ahead free throws with 1 minute, 20 seconds to play, another pair that gave the Sixers a 112-109 lead with 16.8 seconds to play, and two more that pushed the cushion to two possessions with 6.1 seconds left.
Harris totaled his ninth and 10th rebounds and assists in the span of 32 seconds in the fourth quarter. Both helpers went to Georges Niang, whose two three-pointers pushed the Sixers’ lead to 95-83 with less than nine minutes to play.
The Sixers prevailed against yet another opponent heavily impacted by health and safety protocols, as Raptors standouts Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Scottie Barnes were among the six players unavailable.
But Toronto hung around by totaling 17 second-chance points and 16 fast-break points, by shooting 15-of-41 from three-point distance and by getting a big night from All-Star Pascal Siakam (28 points, six rebounds, eight assists) in his return from health and safety protocols and a double-double from Chris Boucher (28 points, 19 rebounds).
All-Star battle
It was no surprise that both teams got big performances from their All-Stars.
Embiid followed his 36-point effort in Washington on Sunday with another 30-point night. And the Sixers needed his crunch-time buckets, playmaking, and defense, including a three-pointer that put Philly up 106-100 with about three minutes to play and a finish at the rim to give the Sixers a 110-109 lead with less than a minute remaining.
Embiid took advantage of his mismatch with the much smaller Boucher early, powering an and-one finish into the bucket in the first quarter. Early in the third, Embiid immediately went to the free-throw line by drawing contact against Yuta Wantanabe, then hit a three-pointer to put the Sixers up, 60-54. Then after getting popped in the head, he drew another foul and later finished a wide-open layup on a dish from Tyrese Maxey to give Philly a 72-64 advantage about midway through the third.
Siakam, meanwhile, was terrific in his return from health and safety protocols. He made six of his first eight shots and totaled 18 first-half points, blending jumpers with crafty drives to the rim. His layup about midway through the fourth cut the Sixers’ lead to 97-92 and the go-ahead finish with about one minute to play.
Bench production
Before the game, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said he expected the Sixers to go “100 miles per hour” and sub liberally.
That did not happen, as Doc Rivers opted to go with a standard nine-man rotation despite having 14 players available compared with Toronto’s nine. Still, depth was a difference-maker in this matchup, as the Sixers had a massive 35-18 edge in bench points.
Niang was the primary spark plug, finishing with 19 points in 22 minutes, including five three-pointers, in his second game since returning from health and safety protocols. One of those long balls put the Raptors back in front, 80-78, after Toronto briefly took the lead late in the third. Then came the two treys early in the fourth that gave the Sixers a double-digit lead.
Furkan Korkmaz, who finally snapped out of an extended shooting slump Sunday, contributed eight quick points off the bench in the first half and finished with 10. Without Shake Milton and Andre Drummond, who both remain in health and safety protocols, Tyler Johnson (three points) was the backup point guard and Paul Reed (three points, three rebounds) the backup center.
Toronto’s only first-half bench points came on a Svi Mykhailiuk layup late in the first quarter. It was reminiscent of when the Sixers totaled just one bench point in their shorthanded victory in Boston on Dec. 20.
But the Raptors’ reserves played a significant role in their third-quarter charge.
D.J. Wilson scored four points in the third quarter, including a transition layup off a turnover that cut the Sixers’ lead to 73-71 to force a timeout. Mykhailiuk then got the Raptors within one at 76-75 by completing a four-point play, then gave Toronto a two-point advantage with a corner trey.
Arena atmosphere
When Niang hit a second-quarter three-pointer right in front of the Sixers’ bench, an eerie silence replaced the typical groans from the home crowd whenever a visiting player makes a big shot.
That’s not a knock on Raptors fans, who are regarded as some of the most passionate in the NBA. It’s another sign of the times as the omicron variant rips through North America and the world. Scotiabank Arena recently reduced capacity to 50%, and stopped selling concessions in an effort to strictly enforce its masking policy.
There were a few moments when pockets of fans started “Let’s go Raptors!” chants, banged thunder sticks to try to distract Sixers players shooting free throws, or clapped along to the music with the encouragement from the team’s mascot. But the changes created an atmosphere that felt like a preseason game, or a 2020-21 matchup as small crowds were welcomed back inside arenas.
Up next
The Sixers will conclude their three-game road trip on Thursday at Brooklyn. Philly is 0-2 against the Nets this season.
