The Philadelphia 76ers' four-game winning streak survived a crazy contest as Philly took down the Toronto Raptors 104-101 in overtime. Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while James Harden recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Pascal Siakam had a very strong performance with 38 points, 15 rebounds and six assists while O.G. Anunoby and Chris Boucher each scored 13 points.
Here are three key reactions to a wild one between the Sixers and Raptors, who love coming together to produce the craziest games.
3. Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton have opposite shooting nights
After being a late scratch on Friday night, Tobias Harris had a very good performance for the Sixers. He scored 21 points and shot 7-9 from the field, including 5-7 from deep. He hit two huge triples in overtime (one of which he got fouled on but was wiped out by an illegal screen from P.J. Tucker) to keep Philly going.
Tobias Harris running the lane and getting rewarded ✈pic.twitter.com/mavd1LaGep
— Sixers Nation (@SixersNationCP) December 20, 2022
Not only did Harris provide some great shooting but he also had a good sense of where to relocate. He got out in transition when he had the opportunity and cut inside to help draw away the defense a few times. His shooting, though, was the highlight of the night. Harris didn't miss a beat but, sadly, De'Anthony Melton did a lot of missing against the Raptors.
Melton had a brutal shooting night. He missed his first eight shots and ended the game with eight points on 3-14 shooting, including 2-11 from deep. However, he did save one of his makes for a crucial possession in the fourth quarter to cut the Sixers' deficit to one.
A woefully bad shooting night didn't stop Melton from having an impact in other areas of the game, like as a rebounder (collecting seven boards), connective passer and defender. He made some fantastic passes at the end of the game to find open looks for teammates. And his willingness to continue taking good shots despite having a cold night is commendable and important for someone playing alongside Embiid and Harden.
2. Ball movement was the name of the game
The shooting percentages won't show it but the Sixers had the Raptors' defense figured out. Toronto frequently utilized a zone, which Philly took apart to find open shots very often. Embiid continued to shed the idea that he gets flustered by double teams by keeping the ball moving. The Raptors keyed in on him, even sending triple teams, but he found open teammates, resulting in good looks at the hoop.
Harden, who had seven dimes, received praise from Embiid for leading the offense and making sure the ball doesn't always stick to one particular person. He showed off his impressive passing with several key plays, from the touchdown pass to Harris to timely, accurate dishes to Harrell and Embiid or emphatic dunks.
Eventually, the Raptors started rolling with more man looks on defense and the Sixers couldn't keep up as well. Powered by a 16-point third quarter from Siakam, the Raptors came out hot in the second half and made it a close game that eventually came down to the wire. When the Sixers faced a harder time getting open looks with all movement and Toronto did, the game changed for the worse for Philly.
Siakam completely owned the game for the Raptors. He made plenty of tough shots (but also pushed his luck and got called for an offensive foul) while making his threes and free throws. Toronto found him, and other shooters, open in the corner and made Philly pay.
The Sixers lost their sense of ball movement down the stretch of the game, especially on key possessions at the very end of the game. Some tough shots from Harden and Embiid wouldn't fall and neither they nor the rest of the offense looked to make it easier on them. In overtime, they got it back and held on for the win.
1. Rebounding still needs work
Although the Sixers handled the Raptors, they were outrebounded handily. The long, athletic Raptors team collected 57 rebounds while the Sixers only recorded 48. It wasn't an insanely huge margin but it was the latest instance that Philly allowed its opponent to do more damage on the glass.
The Raptors had 10 second-chance points in the first half, keeping the game from being further out of reach. Their ability to keep the Sixers off of the offensive glass, save for a few hectic sequences, was also key. Whether it's with more efforts to box out and/or forcing tougher/further shots to prevent easy tip-ins, Philly has to fix this issue.
Philly isn't built to be a good offensive-rebounding team. Their center takes a lot of jumpers and runs the offense from the perimeter, leaving two veteran forwards to crash the board after providing floor spacing, which is an especially tough task considering neither is exceptionally quick nor long. Although the Sixers secured important, crunch-time rebounds when they needed to — Tucker can be thanked for a few of those — they have to figure out a way to improve at securing boards on the defensive end for the duration of the game.
The Sixers will continue their homestand on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons.
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