The Sixers’ road fights against the Raptors continued on Sunday night, even in a game that did not happen in Toronto.
Playing at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sixers dropped to the Raptors, 110-103, dropping to 20-11 this season.
Ben Simmons scored 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Joel Embiid scored 25 points and 17 rebounds in the game after setting a career record of 50. Danny Green had five steals and two blocks, but it was 6:40 to go.
Fred VanVleet (23 points, nine assists) and Pascal Siakam (23 points, eight assists) were highlights for Toronto, and Chris Boucher 5-for-6 night beyond the arc hurt the Sixers.
The Sixers and Raptors will complete their two-game miniseries on Tuesday night. Here are the remarks about Sunday’s game:
Simmons continues where he left off
Playing in his first game since he scored 42 points, his career record, it seemed that none of Simmons’ offensive assaults had disappeared during his illness-related absence. He scored five of the Sixers’ first seven points, pushing the ball forward on the open ground whenever possible and opening contact to reach the edge.
Simmons maintained this approach throughout the first half, throwing 6 in 8 from both the field and the free throw line. His acute defensive instincts were also on display.
After his 10 to 14 night on the foul line, Simmons has 22 of the 27 free throws in the last two games.
“Sometimes it takes a while before you see what we’re trying to do, and Ben is doing it,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “He is aggressive; is reaching the basket; is making plays; is forcing double teams with his speed. And our goal before the year was to see if he could get to the foul line 10 times a night, and he did that. “
Raptors coach Nick Nurse mentioned before the game that the way potential All-Stars play against his team usually affects how he votes for the seven Eastern Conference reserves, which will be announced on Tuesday night. We are assuming that Simmons reinforced his case by being on the nurse’s ballot with his performance on Sunday.
Raptors (relatively) slow Embiid
O Anunoby, 1.80m, gave the first ball to Embiid, when Toronto started playing small ball. The Raptors tried to stop Embiid by putting him ahead and immediately sending traps whenever he caught the ball anywhere near the basket. The well-known opponent, Aron Baynes, also influenced Nurse’s diversified defensive game plan and started the second half, although the real chances of 1 to 1 were very slim for Embiid.
Although he was not as good as normal in midfield and hit 6-20 off the ground, Embiid’s decision-making was generally solid when paired.
“As soon as I crossed the half court, they sent two, three guys to make sure I wasn’t the only one to beat them tonight,” said Embiid. “In general, I thought I was inside myself and within the concept of a team, and I made a lot of passes from it. We just didn’t make enough shots tonight. “
Toronto’s defensive scheme favored three-point opportunities for the Sixers. The team had 11 strikes from 37 long-distance, their highest number of three-point attempts in a game since January 14. Embiid’s pass led to several possessions in which the Sixers swung the ball around the perimeter and forced Toronto to fight. To the Raptors’ credit, they are a strong defensive team in these types of strings.
Simmons acknowledged what Toronto did well in defense, while also noting that the Sixers missed the kicks they usually give, a consensus among team members who spoke to reporters after the game.
“They cover each other, communicate and move very well,” said Simmons. “I think, in general, we have a lot of great looks in attack. They just didn’t fall. … This is how the game went. ”
Tobias Harris had an unusually difficult first quarter, hitting 1 to 9 from the ground and being scored a few times in isolation against Siakam. None of the shots he attempted were inadvisable, but his mistakes allowed VanVleet’s four-point flurry to rock Toronto’s favor during a 20-2 run to end the fourth.
He did better after that, registering 13 points from 6-in-17 shots and seven assists in the game, but the Sixers could have used a more effective third scoring option on Sunday night, especially when Embiid and the team as a whole were having production problems on the stretch.
Looking for answers with the bank
Shake Milton returned after missing five games with a sprained left ankle, and he was the Sixers’ first replacement. He replaced Simmons, with whom Rivers later played with four members of the Sixers’ second unit. It became clear to Rivers that using bench-only lineups is a dangerous game with the current squad.
“We need to have Tobias, Joel or Ben with this unit,” he said on Friday. “And when we don’t, sometimes you just look at the track. Tonight was one of those things where, honestly, I was just looking at the scoreboard. You can see that it will be one of those games that will come to an end. We used the second unit in the second half to reach eight minutes. This is what we were trying to do. “
Isaiah Joe was part of the rotation again, while Furkan Korkmaz did not appear until Matisse Thybulle suffered his third foul (and a technique) at the start of the second half.
Korkmaz’s place has seemed tenuous for some time, especially after he only scored 3 of his last 19 goals in Sunday’s game. His defense and decision-making was certainly not positive either. He scored 0 out of 2 in two minutes of the first half against Toronto.
Joe threw several strong defensive possessions when he faced Norman Powell, tracking him well away from the ball, eliminating possible steering angles and taking control in a play in which Powell tried to pass the rookie.
Speaking after the Sixers shootaround on Sunday morning, Joe credited the team’s veterans for helping him adjust because he wasn’t sure about his playing time in the NBA.
“Even when I come in, take a few bids and get it wrong or right, they are always keeping me up and telling me that this is just part of the job, it is part of the game,” he said. “Just working every day, continuing to work, and everything else is basketball – nothing changes.”
Unlike Simmons, Milton did not hit the ground running on his return. He missed his first five field goals before breaking the ice by dropping a three-point ball from the top of the brace in the third quarter. Milton then drained two more trios and finished with nine points from 3 of 11 shots and two assists in 29 minutes.
“Keep working on it,” Rivers said when asked about his bank, which was overtaken by 35-16 by the Raptors’ second unit. “There are 31 games in the season. It hasn’t been like this all year with our bank, it has been like this lately. Let’s get over it. I thought that in the second part, we never combined correctly in the transition. I thought that’s where they beat us the most. And then we were unable to score. Let’s fix it. “