Continuing his first quarter prominence, Tobias Harris was the one to score all seven points. Philadelphia started the frame on a 7-0 run to cut the Raptors lead to a measly two points. Entering the second quarter with the lead, fellow Raptors HQ writer Casey Dobson joked with me that this time they would instead blow the lead. In recent games, the Raptors have gone down early and tended to come back to either make it a close game or to win. Pascal Siakam with 14 early points - making Raptors history in very Pascal fashion: /k0qasDyc5Z- Esfandiar Baraheni December 23, 2023 The man who wasn’t shy to attack the rim was Pascal Siakam, who posted 14 points in the opening frame and moved into the top five all time for Raptors assists. Embiid was limited to just two points in the quarter, as the size and physicality meeting him at the rim was enough to deter the centre to kicking it out to his shooters. The Raptors defence, anchored by Jakob Poeltl with Scottie Barnes, did a tremendous job dropping on rolls and helping on the inside. The name you may have noticed has not even been mentioned in the game yet is that of reigning MVP and current NBA leading scorer Joel Embiid. Including the point from the charity stripe, the first quarter ended on a tied 8-8 run while the Raptors held a nine point lead at 37-28. While that technically did happen, Philly continued their comeback as Harris was fouled on his midrange jumper and made his lone free throw after the timeout. Typically, a timeout helps reset a team and can slow the momentum of a run. Immediately following the run Harris made another three before a pull up two, scoring five consecutive points and forcing a Raptors timeout. The deep ball also marked the start of a 10-3 run for the Raptors. ![]() The pair scored all of Philly’s first 12 points, as Harris made a three to bring the score to 19-12. Tyrese Maxey was one half, as expected, with Tobias Harris unexpectedly being the other. Philly also had a duo leading the way early in the game, although it likely isn’t the one you’re thinking of. Siakam and Poeltl combined for all of Toronto’s first 16 points before Scottie Barnes drained a three to make the lead 19-9. Jakob Poeltl laid one up on the ensuing possession as the front court duo dominated the Sixers early. Both teams missed on midrange jumpers before Pascal Siakam drew a clear path foul, making both shots from the line and keeping possession of the ball. ![]() In a shocking change of events, Toronto came out on fire and was able to hold Philly’s top players from dominating early in the game. The group had not won the first quarter in any of their matchups so far this month and, given Philadelphia’s roster and place in the standings, the Raptors were expected to be trailing in the opening frame once again. Despite being a net negative on the floor together, Rajakovic has trotted out the group of Schroder, Barnes, Anunoby, Siakam and Poeltl for the opening tip for a 16th consecutive game. Heading into tonight’s matchup, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic announced he would be continuing with the same starting lineup that we’ve seen for much of this season and the entire month of December. The story in the visiting locker room was not quite so jolly. ![]() Embiid was looking to continue his streak of consecutive games scoring 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, entering tonight’s matchup at 12 straight. It’s not even 30 games into the season yet, but Embiid has established himself as the frontrunner to repeat as league MVP. The centre is leading the NBA in scoring for the third consecutive season, averaging more than 35 points a game, and is coming off of his first NBA MVP. The story heading into the game was the continued dominance of Sixers big man Joel Embiid. With the Toronto Raptors making their first trip into Philadelphia this season to face the 76ers, they faced former head coach Nick Nurse as the road team for the first time ever.
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