TORONTO – Kelly Oubre Jr. netted 32 points, with seven rebounds, and sunk six three-pointers to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 135-120 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Cameron Payne scored 24 points and Tobias Harris contributed 21 points as Philadelphia (40-35) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Former Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry recorded 11 points and 10 assists for a double-double.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 23 points as Toronto (23-51) suffered its 13th consecutive loss. The Raptors previously endured a 17-game losing streak during the 1997-98 season, marking their longest in franchise history.
Bruce Brown added 18 points, and Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 assists.
Toronto has not held a lead in its last two matches.
Despite being mathematically eliminated from the post-season, the Raptors still have a vested interest in the remaining games of the season.
Toronto's first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft is conditional, following a trade with the San Antonio Spurs last season for center Jakob Poeltl. While Toronto currently holds the sixth-worst record in the NBA, if May 12th's draft lottery pushes them to seventh or higher, the pick will go to San Antonio.
The Raptors have a 37.2 per cent chance of moving up to a top-four pick in the lottery and a nine per cent chance of securing the first overall pick.
Lowry drained a three-pointer at 3:13 left in the first, establishing a 14-point lead for Philly, their largest up to that point. Raptors reserve forward Jordan Nwora made a buzzer-beating layup to reduce the 76ers’ lead to 35-27 at the end of the opening quarter.
Philadelphia held an 18-point lead in the second, but Trent contributed to a 7-0 run for Toronto, narrowing the lead to 10 with 3:01 left in the half. The Sixers closed out the second quarter with a 10-5 scoring streak, as Oubre hit a buzzer-beating three to give the visitors a 71-55 lead at halftime.
A 10-4 run from the Raptors, capped by a Javon Freeman-Liberty field goal, brought the hosts within seven with 1:20 left in the third quarter. Despite this comeback, Philadelphia maintained a 101-93 lead as they entered the final quarter.
That was as close as the hosts would get, as the 76ers — aiming to advance in the Eastern Conference play-in race — continued to dominate. In the last quarter alone, Payne scored 14 points and Harris contributed nine.
LOWRY HONOR — Sixers point guard Kyle Lowry and head coach Nick Nurse received enthusiastic applause from the fans at Scotiabank Arena during pre-game introductions. Lowry and Nurse were both part of the Raptors’ championship team in 2019.
UP NEXT — The Raptors will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Philadelphia will host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was initially published on March 31, 2024.
