The Sixers started at a disadvantage as they looked to even the season series with a Toronto team that now sits three games ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings after Tuesday night's 119-107 loss at Wells Fargo Center.
PHILADELPHIA – With guard JJ Redick a surprise scratch due to illness and forward Wilson Chandler still nursing a strained right quad, the Sixers started at a disadvantage as they looked to even the season series with a Toronto team that now sits three games ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings after Tuesday night’s 119-107 loss at Wells Fargo Center.
Down two starters, coach Brett Brown didn’t get much offense by inserting guard Landry Shamet or forward Mike Muscala into the lineup as the two reserves struggled mightily in expanded minutes. We saw less Jimmy Butler at the point against the Raptors than we have over the past several games, and while Butler did end up third on the Sixers with 18 points tonight, he had a rough night shooting overall (5 of 12 from the field, 0 for 2 from beyond the arc).
Turning Point
- The Raptors felt in control the entire game, but a late surge from the Sixers gave Philadelphia a chance to cut the Toronto lead to two possessions in the fourth.
- Shamet hit a clutch three that would’ve brought Philadelphia within six with less than 3 minutes to play, but the shot was called off after the referees assessed a foul on the rookie from Wichita State.
- “When you’re going into the corner, it’s hard to, you know to stop and not have any like swing or anything,” Shamet said of the foul postgame. “I feel like I’ve shot that shot X number of times this year. I feel like it’s just my natural shooting motion. A foul’s a foul, can’t do anything about it.”
Standout Star
- Joel Embiid, who else? Nobody had a better night on the floor than Embiid, who scored a game-high 37 points to go along with 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.
- Embiid’s counterpart on the Raptors, Serge Ibaka, put up 20 points in 27 minutes.
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Reason to Cheer
- Fans got their free Wendy’s Frosty, compliments of Pascal Siakam after the third-year power forward bricked two consecutive free throws late in the third quarter.
- Not much else to be happy about in a game where the Sixers were down 17 points at half and only came as close as within 7 points the rest of the way.
Cause for Tears
- After the first half, Shamet (6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist) registered zero points and Muscala (8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist) had only one.
- Several questionable foul calls drew the ire of the home crowd, but Embiid put ownership of the loss on the team and not the referees: “There were a couple calls, but we can’t blame them,” Joel said following the game. “We all make mistakes. There’s no way we can blame this loss on the referees. It’s on us, I could have done better. So we just have to do better.”
- The Sixers collectively shot 29.2 percent (7 for 24) from behind the three point stripe.
- Despite Embiid’s big night, Toronto scored more points in the paint (56) than Philadelphia (44).
Up next
- The Sixers take on the Denver Nuggets at home on Friday night at 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia will retire Moses Malone’s No. 2 jersey during a ceremony at halftime.
- The 76ers’ last game against Denver was a 126-110 road loss back on Jan. 26. The team is 14-6 against Western Conference opponents this season.
Joe Trinacria covers the Sixers for NJ.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jtrinacria.