PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors thanks to a flurry of buckets from three main sources. Joel Embiid had 31 points? Makes sense. Tyrese Maxey had 33? Yeah, that tracks. Tobias Harris also had 33? That is what makes this Sixers' win stand out.

A combined 97 points from three players helped Philly overcome a mostly not-so-good game and snag a win right before heading on a road trip. Tonight was the second time in franchise history that three players each scored over 30 points. Since the franchise was still the Syracuse Nationals when it first occurred in 1961, this game marks the first time that three Sixers have ever done it.

It's been nearly two full calendar years since Harris had a 30-point performance but he picked the exact right time to come through, scoring 24 points in a very rocky first half for Philly. On the night, he shot 12-23 from the field and 5-9 from deep and also recorded eight rebounds and seven assists.

“He's a pro’s pro, man,” Maxey said of Harris. “It's games where sometimes he doesn't get as many shots as he probably should but he never complains. He goes out there, he defends his tail off every single night. He's always professional, he's always there early and then you can count on him to score big numbers when we need him to. That's why we appreciate him. We love him for that.”

Maxey, thanks to his scoring and 10 assists, notched the first 30-and-10 game of his career. He went off for 17 points in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed. His ability to take over down the stretch is fueled by the urgency of the moment and the belief his teammates and coaches have in him.

“I know that's when Joel gets his rest,” Maxey said. “So, I know that's when either we gotta get the lead back or maintain the lead or grow the lead. And my teammates and my coaching staff, they really look to me at that time to not just score for myself but run the team, get guys involved, make sure guys are in the right spot. I feel like the preparation that I put in and all the time, it shows. And I just try to go out there and be extremely aggressive to help us get Ws.”

Embiid had the shakiest game of the three. He was not scoring at the level we've grown accustomed to, as he had just 11 points in the first half. But then he ripped off 17 consecutive points in the third quarter and came through with a few more in the final frame. He turned his ankle, Nick Nurse said after the game, but still managed to get at least 30 points and 10 boards in a game for the 13th time.

Nurse explained two factors behind the Sixers' slow start. First, the win on Wednesday over the Minnesota Timberwolves was the bigger game to get up for and was a very hard-fought game. Second, the Raptors defended Embiid hard and took away his scoring chances often. But once Embiid started bringing the game to him, he dominated.

“I think he just started playing a little sooner,” Nurse said. “Thought that was another little thing. Like, he was following the flight of the pass a lot more and just kind of continuing on rather than looking at everything. He was just kind of going and sometimes you gotta trust that the passer's making that angle of the pass for you 'cause that's what's open, right? So I thought he did some of that on some quick stuff. And then he started punching through, he started making some jumpers and he hits a three on an OB [out-of-bounds] play. He just kind of finally got in his rhythm and got the shooting going.”

With voting for the All-Star game starting up, the Sixers have pushed for all three guys to get in. Embiid and Maxey have obvious cases but even with this incredible performance, Harris is averaging just 16.6 points per game and not excelling in any other areas. Philly fans have not exactly been jumping at the chance to support his All-Star candidacy.

However, for at least tonight and the next few days leading up to their Christmas Day game, the Sixers can revel in the simultaneous success of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. A win like this is a perfect holiday gift to the team.