By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors. Philly had it working from the three-point line as they made 24 three-pointers (new franchise record) tonight which help them flood Toronto off their home floor 135-120.

The Sixers once again found their offensive rhythm early in this contest they cashed in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created off their ball movement. That put the Raptors on their heels early in this game as they found themselves down 18 points by half-time. The trio of Kelly Oubre Jr. (32 points, mad 6/11 three-pointers in the contest), Cam Payne (24 points, made six/10 three-pointers in the game) and Tobias Harris (21 points) combined for 78 of the Philly’s 135 points. Oubre Jr. in particular scored 18 of his 32 points by half-time. He had the hot hand in this contest and saved the Sixers multiple times during this game, when the offense got stagnant by hitting a big shot to keep them ahead.  Tyrese Maxey missed this game tonight with a hip injury and an illness, so there were more shooting opportunities available and he took full advantage of it. If he can continue to play aggressively like he did tonight he can be a big piece either in the starting line-up or off the bench for the Sixers in the  remaining eight games of the regular season and postseason. When his shot is working like it was tonight it adds another dimension to the Sixers imposing offense.

Despite the explosion from Oubre Jr., Payne, and Harris Toronto weathered the storm and fought right back into this game. In the second-half their shots finally started falling and they forced Philly into some bad turnovers which led to easy buckets for them. They were able to cut the Sixers lead to eight points, thanks to Gary Trent Jr., who could not be stopped throughout this contest. He scored 23 points in the contest and kept his team in this game by making timely baskets whenever the Sixers would leave him open. They had no answers for him throughout this contest, and they were only able to win this game because of making 24 three-pointers and holding the Raptors to one possession throughout this contest.

Philly will now prepare for a Tuesday night showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They may get Joel Embiid back sometime this week and if that is the case it will bolster a Sixers offense that seems like it is rounding into form. They will need to continue to cash in on the high-percentage shots created off their ball movement, when it is working they are able to hit shots from all sides of the court and puts Philly’s offense on another level. They will need every basket they can to keep up with OKC’s explosive offense. Additionally, the Sixers will need to stay attached to their man and hold the Thunder to one opportunity to make a shot. The Thunder are a team that will make them pay if they give them multiple opportunities to put the ball into the basket, and give them any room to put a shot up. The Sixers will need to implement these things into their game plan if they want to get their 41^st victory of the season.