DeMar DeRozan’s 16 points in the fourth quarter were enough to doom the Sixers on Friday night. His effort pushed Toronto to a 104-95 victory.
The Raptors actually opened the game on a 15-2 run. The Sixers then quickly responded with a 20-5 run of their own, and the game was close the rest of the way. That’s when DeRozan took over and Toronto, scoring seven straight points to open the fourth to give the Raptors a double-digit lead.
"When we got a chance to put a stronghold on it, we closed it out," Kyle Lowry told reporters after the game.
Lowry, a Philadelphia native, also was a big reason why Toronto was able to win and secure the game late. A big fourth quarter from him resulted in his fourth career triple-double. The guard would finish with 18 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. He actually led Toronto in boards. Playing a near flawless and efficient game, he did not commit a turnover until the game’s final minute.
The Sixers actually held a one-point advantage going into the second half. The score would change 12 times and it was knotted up another 15 times.
Philadelphia was led by Michael-Carter Williams, who finished with 20 points. Spencer Hawes had another double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 more rebounds.
They again struggled with their outside shooting, which has become a recent theme. They only hit 6 of 20 three-point attempts, dropping their season rate to 32%, second-worst in the entire association. As a result of their struggles from outside, they scored 56 of their points in the paint. They did have a season-low 10 turnovers in the contest.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Sixers. They will welcome NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, with the tip slated for 7:30 p.m.
