By: Kylan Watson

With six games left in the regular season the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Toronto Raptors in their final matchup of the season. Philly started the game off on fire and they had a field goal percentage of 76.9 (a franchise record) in the first half. The Sixers shot the Raptors off the court and even though they went cold in the third quarter that hot start helped them beat Toronto 117-110.

Unlike the previous game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. The Sixers jumped on the Raptors from the opening tip-off. They made their first couple of shots from the field and that snowballed as their ball movement continued to give Toronto fits. Philly was able to find the holes in Toronto’s defensive scheme and those possessions ended in the ball finding the bottom of the net. Before the Raptors could even find their offensive footing, they were down by double digits and by half time they were down 24-points. The duo of Joel Embiid (25-points and grabbed 12-rebounds) and James Harden (23-points, had 11-assists, and hit three three-pointers tonight) led Philly tonight, they combined 48 of Philly’s 117-points in the contest.  This was a great night for both players as they got whatever they wanted from the field and there was little the Raptors could do to stop them in this game. Harden especially had one of his best nights since returning from a sore Achilles heel and he made the big plays on multiple possessions for the Sixers. In the second quarter as the quarter was winding down Harden hit two spectacular three-pointers to keep Philly ahead in this game. He is starting to look like his old self and that could bode well for the Sixers as the postseason begins in a few weeks. If they are going to go far in the postseason, they will need Harden not only to be a playmaker but to take full advantage of his matchup as the Sixers second best player on the court.

Despite the shot making and offensive explosion from the Sixers, Toronto weathered the storm and did not let being down 24-points deter them from making this a game. They made a ton of adjustments, the two biggest ones being making shots and turning up the defensive pressure on Philly. They started trapping the ball handler and the turnovers followed. That allowed them to get out in the open court and attack the basket which propelled their offense and got them wide-open three-pointers. Scottie Barnes led them tonight when he scored 29-points and did all he could to keep the Raptors in this game. He hit well contested shots and attacked the basket without Tobias Harris on the floor to check him he had free reign to use his size to attack the smaller Sixers defender. Philly switched PJ Tucker onto him to make it more difficult for him to get a shot up and that allowed the Sixers to stay in front in this game.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night in a game that could be an Eastern Conference Finals preview. They will need to continue to keep the ball moving to take advantage of another aggressive defense and to find high percentage shots to maximize their offensive possessions. Additionally, they will need to stay attached to their man and make sure that the Bucks shooters are taking contested shots and do not get a chance at an offensive rebound. If the Sixers can do that, they can get their 52^nd victory of the season and stake their claim in the loaded Eastern Conference.