The Toronto Raptors (6-3) defeated the Philadelphia 76ers (0-8) 119-103 on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
After a back-and-forth first half between these two teams, the Raptors got hot to start the third. To begin the quarter, they went on an 11-0 run and never looked back, eventually pushing their way to a convincing 16-point victory on the road.The Raptors' biggest advantage came at the free throw line. They hit an impressive 28-of-31 free throw attempts, while the Sixers attempted just 17, while converting on 11 of those 17.
Kyle Lowry played a huge part in the victory. He went 6-of-12 from the field and 2-for-6 from the three-point line to score a team-high of 23 points, while also adding eight assists and a pair of steals. Lowry is on fire right now, combining for 46 points, 17 assists and five steals over his last two games. Luis Scola was another player who had a strong showing Wednesday. In just 18 minutes of playing time, he scored an efficient 21 points (10-15 FG, 3-4 FT), to go along with five rebounds and a steal. The points total was a new season high for the eighth-year pro out of Argentina, who's now averaging 7.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists on the season. Leading all bench players, Cory Jefferson provided a nice spark for the Raptors. He chipped in with 15 points (6-9 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT) and five assists over 30 minutes.
Rookie Jahlil Okafor did everything he could to keep the Sixers in the game. Okafor finished with a game-high of 26 points (13-22 FG, 0-2 FT), 16 of which came in the first half, while also adding seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Okafor continues to show himself as one of the top rookies in his class, now averaging a class-leading 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists on the year. He's now surpassed the 20-point plateau in five of the first eight games of his NBA career. While Okafor was the only starter who really got into a rhythm, Hollis Thompson and Isaiah Canaan had solid showings off the bench. They combined to shoot 11-for-19 from the field and 10-for-16 from beyond the arc for 37 points. With Robert Covington still sidelined due to a knee injury, both players saw increased porduction Wednesday, but it wasn't enough to keep the Sixers close.
The Raptors' next game will be on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, while the Sixers will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder Friday as well.
