76ers Drop Second Consecutive Games To Open Season, Lose 115-107 To Raptors
Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick, left, drives as Philadelphia 76ers guard Eric Gordon (23) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
After dropping their opening night game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the 76ers fell flat in their first road game of the year, falling to the Toronto Raptors 115-107.
Without Joel Embiid and Paul George, for a second consecutive game to start the year. Poor free throw shooting and shot efficiency doomed the 76ers throughout the night causing them to fall to 0-2. Tyrese Maxey finished with 24 points and four assists, his efficiency in shooting struggled once again as he shot 6-for-23 (26.1%) from the field. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points in the loss while Scottie Barnes scored 27 points.
The 76ers got out to a slow start, trailing by six midway through the first quarter—however, a pair of threes from Oubre Jr. and 13 points from Maxey helped Philadelphia lead by one after the first 12 minutes.
Quarter number two didn’t go the 76ers way. As Drummond went to the bench for a break Jakob Poeltl went to work against the 76ers small-ball lineup. Poeltl knocked down three shots in the paint and added four more points at the free-throw line for 10 in the second quarter. Careless fouls and missed shots by the 76ers allowed the Raptors to get back in front and hold onto a 62-56 lead at the half.
As the second half began, shades of the first quarter were on display. Both teams continued to answer with shots back and forth and the Raptors continued to hold their lead. As the third quarter was winding down, led by an Eric Gordon three-pointer and five points from Guerschon Yabusele, the 76ers went on a 10-to-2 run to cut the deficit to two points. However, the Raptors answered back quickly ending the run, scoring five points of their own to go back up six heading into the fourth quarter.
With only 12 minutes of game time left, things continued to go the Raptors’ way. Toronto opened up the fourth quarter on a 15-2 run thanks to rookie forward Jamison Battle. Off the bench, Battle drilled a pair of threes and scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the quarter to put the Raptors up 98-79.
Down by nearly 20 with just over six minutes left, The 76ers needed to make a run to try and mount a comeback. While they were able to get the score closer, they were unable to fight back, falling to Toronto 115-107.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He now covers the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
