Key Takeaways
- Toronto led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter but lost 123-112 to the Philadelphia 76ers, a third straight defeat.
- Barrett had season highs of 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Quickley scored 26, but Tyrese Maxey (27 points, 8 assists) and Joel Embiid (20) led the comeback.
- The short-handed Raptors, missing Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, fall to 5-7; Philadelphia improves to 10-3.
Seventeen points up — and it still wasn't enough
For one quarter in Philadelphia, the Toronto Raptors looked like the team their record says they aren't. Toronto raced to a 33-16 lead in the first quarter, the largest margin of the night, with RJ Barrett attacking early and the 76ers flat. Then the game reasserted itself: Philadelphia won the second quarter 36-27 to reach halftime tied 60-60, won the third by the same score to lead 96-87, and closed out a 123-112 win despite Toronto pulling within six with under five minutes left.
Tyrese Maxey ran the comeback with 27 points and 8 assists. Joel Embiid, who gave Philadelphia a scare when he crumpled to the floor clutching his right knee in the first quarter before returning, finished with 20 points. Jaylen Brown added 18, Anfernee Simons scored 17 off the bench on 5-for-6 shooting from three, and rookie VJ Edgecombe filled the box score with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Barrett's big night, wasted
The loss spoils the Raptors' best individual performance of the young season: Barrett's 31 points and 14 rebounds were both season highs, and Immanuel Quickley — playing his second game back from a hamstring strain, on a minutes restriction — scored 26 without a turnover. Collin Murray-Boyles added 14 points and five blocks.
Context matters, though: Toronto played without Kawhi Leonard (knee, his 10th straight game missed) and Scottie Barnes (groin, fourth straight). Philadelphia was missing LeBron James, out with back and sciatica management. The Raptors fall to 5-7 with a third straight loss; the 76ers rise to 10-3. Toronto hosts the New York Knicks on Sunday.
The Twikup Take
Short-handed teams survive on exactly the kind of start Toronto had — and die by exactly the fade that followed. Barrett and Quickley gave the Raptors a puncher's chance; with two starters in street clothes, the margin for a 36-point quarter against them simply isn't there. The season's story stays the same until Leonard and Barnes share a floor.
Image: RJ Barrett with Canada at the Germany vs. Canada basketball preparation match in Berlin on August 9, 2023 by Sandro Halank, CC BY-SA 4.0.