The Philadelphia 76ers couldn’t overcome a disastrous third quarter in Wednesday night’s 121-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Playing without Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Kelly Oubre Jr., the short-handed 76ers stayed competitive through the first half before everything unraveled coming out of the locker room.
Despite early energy and crisp ball movement, Philadelphia’s rhythm completely broke down after halftime as Toronto capitalized on every mistake, turning turnovers into fast-break points and punishing defensive lapses. The Raptors’ relentless pace quickly shifted momentum, exposing the Sixers’ lack of depth and composure once the deficit began to grow.
PhillyVoice.com’s Adam Aaronson took to his X (formerly known as Twitter), sharing what head coach Nick Nurse said postgame after the 76ers collapsed in the third quarter against his former team.
“A lot of bad… It was a bad start and then a bunch of turnovers… Set the tone for a really bad quarter.”
The 76ers had led 56-53 at halftime, showing fight despite missing three key players. But the Raptors stormed out of the break, outscoring Philadelphia 44-28 in the third quarter behind strong play from RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram. The third quarter surge proved decisive, as Toronto built a double-digit cushion that the 76ers never recovered from.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 24 points, while rookie VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes each added 21. Still, the 76ers committed 21 turnovers — a number Nurse said “set the tone” for the collapse. Their ball security issues, paired with cold shooting and lack of veteran depth, sealed their fate in what became another frustrating night for a team still searching for consistency.
Now 8-6 on the season, the 76ers sit eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. With Embiid and George continuing to recover from knee injuries, Nurse’s group has leaned heavily on Maxey’s scoring and playmaking to stay afloat. Philadelphia will look to regroup Thursday night vs. the Milwaukee Bucks, hoping to fix its turnover issues and find rhythm before the team's next stretch of games.
