Observations after massive 1st half drives Sixers to bounce-back win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers rode a dream first half to a bounce-back win Monday night in Toronto.
They earned a split in their back-to-back against the Raptors with a 115-102 victory.
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Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points. Joel Embiid had 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The 22-16 Sixers had a full-strength squad. The 24-17 Raptors’ RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl and Ja’Kobe Walter were out with injuries.
The Sixers will host the Cavs on both Wednesday and Friday nights. Here are observations on their win over the Raptors:
Maxey shows off three-level skills
Paul George scored the Sixers’ first five points on two free throws and a pull-up three-pointer. VJ Edgecombe and Embiid also canned early long-distance jumpers.
Maxey wasted no time in displaying his three-level scoring prowess. He sped past defenders, hit mid-range jumpers, fired away well beyond the arc and appeared to pose a legitimate threat from almost anywhere.
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The 25-year-old tallied 18 points in the first quarter on 6-for-7 shooting. Through 36 games, Maxey’s averaged 30.9 points. It’s remarkable that, if Maxey finishes the season with at least 30 points per game, the Sixers will have had four such years in the past five. Embiid did it three straight times between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 campaigns and won two scoring titles in the process. Maxey currently leads the Eastern Conference in scoring and sits third in the NBA.
As a team, the Sixers shot 14 for 17 from the floor in the first quarter (7 for 8 from three-point range). The Sixers’ star trio had 37 of the team’s 45 first-period points.
Embiid above the rim
Unfortunately for the Raptors, a new quarter did not mean the Sixers’ offense drastically cooled off.
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Embiid jammed in his most powerful dunk of the season in the second quarter. He accepted an Edgecombe pass, took a hard dribble through the lane and elevated for a one-hand slam that the Sixers’ bench enjoyed. Beyond the entertaining two points, it’s clearly an excellent indicator with Embiid’s health that he’s willing and able to score in that fashion above the rim.
Embiid’s now just three points away from the milestone of 13,000 career points. He’s seventh on the Sixers’ all-time scoring list.
Toronto remained unable to handle the Maxey-Embiid two-man game. Maxey sunk yet another three off of an Embiid dribble handoff to stretch the Sixers’ advantage to 73–44. They led by as many as 31 points late in the second quarter.
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The Sixers were due for a good shooting game after subpar outings in their win over the Magic and overtime loss Sunday to the Raptors. Their first half Monday night was better than anyone could’ve possibly envisioned.
Lowry feels the love
Edgecombe was a significant part of the much-improved shooting effort. The rookie posted 15 points (5 for 7 from the field, 5 for 6 from three-point range) and eight assists.
Toronto finally gathered some momentum late in the third quarter, making a run and cutting the Sixers’ lead to 18 points on a Gradey Dick layup.
The Raptors hung around in the fourth, though never to a degree that truly alarmed the Sixers. For several minutes, the main lingering question was whether all the fans asking for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to sub in Kyle Lowry would get their wish.
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Much to everyone’s delight, Lowry checked in at the 1:57 mark. The six-time All-Star and Raptors legend basked in the moment and thanked the crowd.
The 39-year-old tried three jumpers and came up empty. That didn’t diminish the cheers at the final buzzer. Lowry held the ball as the clock expired and raised his arm to acknowledge the love again.
