There was definitely a feeling of relief on a number of fronts when the Sixers held on for Monday’s 117-111 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors.
First off, it was the Sixers’ first win of the season against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference standings — Boston, the Raptors and Cleveland. The Sixers had been 0-8 against the three.
Even more importantly, the Sixers wanted to show that they could close a game out against a quality team. Just the game before, the Sixers had squandered a 22-point lead in last Thursday’s 114-103 loss to the Boston Celtics in London.
The Sixers were able to close matters against the Raptors, but there were plenty of anxious moments. Three times in the third quarter the Sixers led by as many as 21 points, the last time after Joel Embiid hit two free throws for an 89-68 advantage with 1 minute and 45 seconds left.
Toronto, which appeared to be sleepwalking in the first three quarters, woke up in the fourth and got to within 102-101 on a DeMar DeRozan 18-foot, pull-up jumper with 3:03 left.
The Raptors would get no closer.
“We have been in this type of position a lot this year,” said Embiid, who had 34 points and 11 rebounds. “We just have to stay calm and execute and keep moving the ball and not try to go for any one-on-one and not force things, but keep moving the ball.”
This was the type of game where Embiid kept the Sixers afloat in the fourth quarter with nine points and five rebounds.
“The big fella [Embiid] was great tonight,” said reserve guard T.J. McConnell, who wasn’t bad himself, getting 18 points and eight assists. “Just getting him the ball and he closed it out down the stretch and it was a good team win.”
When Toronto was chipping away at the lead, the Sixer had that déjà vu feeling all over again.
“That (the comeback) added to the feeling, ‘Uh-oh, here it comes again’ — there is probably a little bit of that in there, and it is stuff we have to get older and keep pushing forward,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
The Sixers (20-20) didn’t practice on Tuesday. They have a quick rematch on Thursday in Boston with the Celtics, who entered Tuesday’s home game against New Orleans with a 34-10 record.
Of immediate concern is the condition of guard JJ Redick.
With 4:37 left in Monday’s game, Redick suffered a bruised left leg. As of Tuesday night, the Sixers did not have an update.
Redick is second on the team in scoring (17.3 ppg.) and is shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range and 94.6 percent from the foul line.
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