By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia 76ers entered the last game of their two-game match-up with the Toronto (Tampa) Raptors looking to rebound. After losing on Sunday night thanks to some strong three-point shooting. The Sixers were able to get a strong three-point performance to stagger Toronto 109-102, and take the season series.
It started out good for the Sixers early on. Unlike Sunday night the Sixers were able to hit their threes. They hit 17 three-pointers. Five of those were made by shooting guard Furkan Korkmas. Who was inserted into the starting line-up because guard Seth Curry had a sore ankle. He took full advantage of his opportunity and powered Philly’s offense early on. He had 13 of his 19 points by the end of the first quarter.
On Korkmas’ performance, “With the starters, he has to do less, which allowed him to do more… He really came through for us,” said Head Coach Doc Rivers.
Philly needed those threes because every-time Toronto would make a run in the game they responded from beyond the arc. They also had a stronger defensive performance. As they made it tough for the Raptors all game. They were not able to get a lot of wide-open perimeter shots. Philly held guard Fred Vanvleet in check as well. He only scored 10-points. Philly made someone else on the Raptors beat them and nobody answered the call tonight. The Raptors got 46 of their 102-points from the duo of center/forward Pascal Siakam (22-points) and Norman Powell (24-points), but that wasn’t enough to stop Philly’s offense.
Philly was also able to get a wire to wire victory because their bench showed up to the game. They were able to get 23-points from their bench. Most of that was because guard Shake Milton returned to form in this game. He scored 11-points off the bench. He is still working his way back from an ankle injury. However, having him back adds the needed scoring punch off the bench for Philly.
The Sixers have ended a 16-game regular season road losing streak to Toronto. The last time they beat them was in 2010. Philly will now face the struggling Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. They will need another strong shooting night and perimeter defensive performance to beat the Mavericks.
