VanVleet scores 22 as Raptors top 76ers for 5th straight win

TORONTO – Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 22 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-95 on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to five.

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) reacts after hitting a three-pointer during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Norman Powell added 18 points, Marc Gasol shot 7 for 7 and finished with 17 points, and Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka each scored 16 as the Raptors won their 15th straight home meeting with the 76ers.

Ben Simmons had 17 points, 10 rebounds and eights assists for the 76ers, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. Simmons, however, had just two points and one rebound in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia’s four-game winning streak was snapped.

Tobias Harris scored 22 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 and Matisse Thybulle 13 for the 76ers.

Philadelphia trailed 93-90 after Simmons scored on a dunk with 4:26 left in the fourth, his only points of the final quarter, but Toronto answered with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes as the Sixers missed five straight shots.

Harris stopped the drought with a pair of free throws in the final minute, but it was too late for the 76ers.

Philadelphia made five 3-pointers in the fourth but shot 7 for 19 overall.

Sixers guard Josh Richardson strained his left hamstring while trying to make a steal in the first and did not return. Richardson missed six games in late November and early December because of a right hamstring injury.

Korkmaz and Shake Milton each had a pair of 3-pointers in the first and the 76ers made seven of 14 from long range to lead 35-26 after one.

After falling behind by 14 in the first, the Raptors roared back in the second. Toronto took its first lead, 50-49, on a driving layup by Lowry with 1:33 left in the half. Philadelphia shot 4 for 19 in the second, going 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. The score was tied 50-all at halftime.

VanVleet made consecutive 3-pointers as Toronto closed the third with a 10-0 run, taking a 76-72 lead into the fourth.

TIP-INS
76ers: Simmons had six assists in the first quarter, as many as the Raptors had as a team. … Al Horford grabbed 10 rebounds but shot 3 for 11 and scored seven points.

Raptors: Powell failed to extend his career-best streak of five straight 20-point games. … F Patrick McCaw had to be helped to the locker room with a towel pressed to his face after being struck by Norvel Pelle’s arm while fighting for a rebound early in the second. The Raptors said McCaw was not available to return because of a “facial contusion.”

GSG