Third Quarter
Some more mix-ups as Quentin Grimes started the second half in place of Edwards, though both had closed the half relatively well. They opened the second pretty ugly though as Maxey turned it over three times, helping another Toronto run.
Much like the first quarter, no one other than Embiid or Oubre could get anything to fall as they begun the third 5-of-18 from the floor. Yabu got some minutes next to Embiid and was able to hit their first three of the frame.
Edwards had more success going to the basket, and George got his first three of the night to go down, but defensive breakdowns allowed the Raptors to keep running ahead. After an ugly quarter on both ends the Sixers trailed by three.
Fourth Quarter
Despite holding the Raptors without a field goal for the first four minutes of the quarter, the Sixers didn’t make much progress. Butler returned to the game with another scoring burst, but his teammates opened the quarter on 1-of-5 shooting.
Not only did Butler provide some much needed baskets, but he was able to hit Embiid with a pocket pass or two. The bench guards definitely got more run than usual before Maxey returned, but baskets still came few and far between. They were never able to take a larger lead than four before giving it back up again.
Maxey finally made his first field goal of the night when he hit a three to tie the game with under two minutes left. Though doubling Barnes on the next possession led to an open layup. After a couple empty possessions, the ball swung to a wide open Embiid for the last possession. He passed up the open three and turned the ball over trying to cross over.
Gradey Dick left a slight window open by splitting his pair of the line, giving the Sixers a final chance with five seconds left. The look went to Maxey and he got a little bit of space, but the shot came up short. Grimes was able to put back the miss but once again it was too little, too late.
That All-Star break really can’t get here soon enough.
The Sixers lost their fourth game in a row when they fell to the Toronto Raptors 106-105 Tuesday night.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 27 points and 12 rebounds, but fumbled the ball away in the closing seconds of the game. Paul George had just 14 points shooting 5-of-12 from the field.
Tyrese Maxey had a night to forget, shooting 1-of-9 from the floor for just five points. He had three assists and four turnovers.
Scottie Barnes led all scorers with 33.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
Once again a flat start from the Sixers as the Raptors made five of their first six shots to start the night. A couple of ugly Sixers’ turnovers helped the visitors to seven fast break points as they built an early double-digit lead.
As the Sixers settled in, they did stop giving the ball away. That helped them hold Toronto without a field goal in the half-court for nearly seven minutes, generating four turnovers of their own. Embiid earning a couple trips to the line threw off the pace as well.
Some rotation mix-ups as Ricky Council IV was back in after only seeing garbage time minutes the last three games, Guerschon Yabusele was again the backup center. The offense continued on a glacial pace, though. Sixers not named Embiid and Kelly Oubre shot 2-of-13, with only one trip to the line to only contribute six points as they fell into an eight-point deficit.
Second Quarter
It took them a couple more minutes, but the Sixers were finally able to rip off an 8-0 run to knot things up. With Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry out, all those minutes could go to Jared Butler. He hit a couple layups in traffic — one crossing past Barnes and the other in transition.
Butler looked to push ahead on every miss he could, which is a stark contrast to the other backups here. While that helped get them some looks at the rim, the Sixers still couldn’t buy a jump shot. They missed five of their first six three attempts of the quarter.
The offense got in more of a rhythm when Justin Edwards finally drilled a catch-and-shoot three from an open corner after Maxey collapsed the defense. That was Maxey’s only assist in the half, and he was scoreless on just two shots.
Edwards had a nice give-and-go with Embiid a few possessions later. Embiid landed pretty awkwardly on his arm trying to prevent a turnover, but seemed to shake it off and stayed in the game. In fact, he caught the ensuing jump ball and knocked down a jumper to give them a two-point lead at the break.
Joel Embiid and the Sixers fell just short to the lowly Raptors as the teams playoff hopes slowly drift away.
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