DeRozan scores 29, Raptors beat slumping 76ers
Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan high fives fans as he comes off court after scoring 29 points in his team’s 102-86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA basketball game. AP
TORONTO — Joel Embiid’s return wasn’t enough to get the Philadelphia 76ers out of their recent rut.
DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 and the Toronto Raptors beat Philadelphia 102-86 on Saturday (Sunday Manila time) for their 10th straight home victory.
Embiid, Philadelphia’s leading scorer and rebounder, returned after missing the previous three games because of a sore lower back.
“It wasn’t feeling the best but I really wanted to play tonight,” Embiid said.
Embiid had 14 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes, but the 76ers lost for the 18th time in 19 meetings with the Raptors.
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said he could tell Embiid, who got a technical foul late in the third, was frustrated at not being able to perform better.
“He wants to do so much more and he can’t,” Brown said. “He just hasn’t practiced or, recently, played. There was a rhythm and a fluid side of his game that he was searching for.”
Dario Saric scored 17 points, Amir Johnson had 12 and Ben Simmons scored 10 for Philadelphia, which has lost five straight and nine of 10.
Brown insisted his players haven’t been affected by the slump.
“They understand the sky isn’t falling,” Brown said.
Simmons echoed his coach’s assessment of the rotten run, which includes a triple-overtime loss against Oklahoma City.
“A rough few games,” Simmons said. “We just need to get back on track. Once we get that game under out belts, we’ll be fine. There’s no reason to panic.”
Delon Wright matched his season high with 14 points while Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas each had 12 for the Raptors, who have won six straight overall and 12 of 13.
Toronto is an NBA-best 12-1 at home and is 10-1 in December, second only to Golden State’s 10-0 mark this month.
“I can see an air of confidence, especially here, and we’ve got to continue that,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
Embiid took Philadelphia’s first six shots of the game. He scored eight points in the opening quarter, but Ibaka had 13 for the Raptors. The teams were tied at 27 after the first.
Ther 76ers made five of 15 field-goal attempts in the second and committed 10 turnovers that led to 15 Toronto points. Lowry and Valanciunas each scored eight points in the second, and the Raptors led 55-46 at halftime.
DeRozan scored 16 points in the third, and Toronto closed the quarter on a 13-3 run, taking an 81-63 lead into the fourth.
“You blink and they go whack, whack,” Brown said.
