Sixers fall to Raptors despite Toronto’s remarkably brazen tanking attempt

The Raptors’ injury list was plentiful and they sat two starters in the second half, but a hot shooting second quarter carried them to an undesired win vs. the Sixers.

It was a nice try, but some things are left better to the masters.

The Sixers dropped one of the most important tanking matchups of the season 118-105 to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night. They are 22-43.

That loss came despite the best effort of Quentin Grimes, who once again led all scorers with 29 points. He shot 11-of-23 from the field and also had three steals and two blocks.

Jeff Dowtin Jr. shot 9-of-14 from the floor for a career-high 20 points. A.J. Lawson led the Raptors with 28 while Jared Rhoden had 25 — both of them are on two-way contracts.

Guerschon Yabusele was out due to knee soreness. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George remained out as well. Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and R.J. Barrett were amongst several Raptors unable to suit up.

First Quarter

• After a quick 8-0 run to open the game, the Sixers begun to play how most fans would like them to at this point. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond took turns creating for themselves. Justin Edwards put on a nice spin move in transition but his attempt rimmed out.
• Not even halfway through the quarter though the Sixers had someone go down with a scary looking injury. Fighting for a rebound, Lonnie Walker IV fell down and hit his head pretty hard, not able to brace his fall. He stayed down for a bit before heading to the locker room. Gina Mizell of The Inquirer provided an update at halftime.

• Since he’s been playing more consistently, Jared Butler seems to have settled in. He knocked down the team’s first three of the night. He also drove to the elbow to find a wide open Oubre baseline, but there wasn’t much else going on as the Sixers fell into a 4-of-16 start from the field.

• Even a late-quarter heater from Grimes wasn’t enough for a masked up Jamison Battle, who got on the board with a couple of jump shots. The Raptors led by six at the end of one after one of their threes was reviewed and changed to a long two.

Second Quarter

• It was another exciting start for the Sixers as Butler found Adem Bona for a lob — Bona shortly after had a big swat that Ricky Council IV was able to pick up and slam home the other way. They shortly went into another three minute field goal drought riddled with four turnovers. Grimes had four on his own as he kept getting the ball poked away from him in the paint.

• Toronto took full advantage of the Sixers’ offensive struggles, quickly running out to a 20-point lead. Their 11-of-21 start from three almost matched the Sixers in attempts at the time with 12. Two-way Jared Rhoden, who got the start tonight, went for 17 in the first half with 12 in the quarter.
• Nothing quite sums up the quality of this game like Grimes getting almost the exact same steal on back-to-back plays. A small push from him, a couple more buckets from Butler, and a deep three from Jeff Dowtin Jr. cut the lead to 14 at the break.

Third Quarter

• More strong play from Grimes as he opened the half with a blindside block on Rhoden, then was able to finish the fast break with a layup. He hit a couple more baskets and hit Edwards for a strong drive to get the lead briefly under single digits.
• The Raptors were shortly able to push that back up though — thanks in part to some second chance points, and also due to more than one of them being able to make a three. The turnover-hunting style put the Sixers in a bit of foul trouble. Butler had to sit with his fourth while Edwards had picked up three himself.
• The Sixers kept coming up with steals, and they finally saw some shots fall as well. They weren’t even doing a horrendous job of protecting the rim, especially with Bona in the game, they had 11 blocks through three. Dowtin remained hot, hitting a couple jumpers and weaving his way in for a floater. Council knocked one down too and for better or worse, the Sixers only trailed by thee after the third.

Fourth Quarter

• Council had more opportunity to cook to start the quarter but both of his drives ended in unsuccessful runner attempts. The Sixers weren’t engaging in “gamesmanship” as Grimes did check back in after the quarter’s first timeout. (It is pretty much impossible to sit a guy playing for a contract.)
• As if this season wasn’t bad enough, the Sixers lost a challenge, but the broadcast wasn’t even able to catch Bill Kennedy’s explanation. It’s truly the only enjoyable experience left for this season.
• Grimes continued to chip into the lead, and he had a running mate on the night in Dowtin. The outside shot falling seemed to help his confidence as he begun to look for his floater more as well.

• They probably made it closer than anyone would have liked, but the best the Sixers were able to cut the lead to was nine. It’s crazy that we’re here, but this was an enormous loss now that the Raptors have clinched the tiebreaker.
• The Sixers will briefly return home just before their final extended road trip of the season. They’ll host the Indiana Pacers Friday night at 7 p.m. ET.