Raptors fans treated to spectacle by VanVleet in win over 76ers

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Toronto’s basketball fans did not get to see their Raptors tangle with Joel Embiid Wednesday night. But they were treated to a three-point shooting spectacle by Fred VanVleet in a topsy-turvy 107-95 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

VanVleet led the Raps with 22 points, including six three-pointers. He was one of six players to score in double digits for Toronto as they rolled to victory in a game in which they trailed for much of the night. Pascal Siakam had 18 points with 15 rebounds. Gasol had 17 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting. Then there was Norman Powell (18), Kyle Lowry (16) and Serge Ibaka (16).

It was a fifth straight win for the Raps, who improved to 30-14, while the Sixers dropped to 29-17. Both teams are crowded in the high-to-middle spots in the Eastern Conference standings.

Tobias Harris had 22 points to lead Philly.

It was the third meeting this season between the foes who memorably battled it out last spring in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Both teams came into the night riding four-game win streaks. Each had a home victory in their head-to-head series so far. For just the third time so far this season, ESPN was in Toronto to broadcast a Raptors game.

Some players in the game may be among those who will hear their names called on Thursday night when the NBA reveals its all-star starters. Siakam is hoping for the first all-star nod of his career

“I want to be able to be there, to be solidified and for everyone to know around the NBA like when they look, like ‘he’s an all-star and there’s no debate’ – that’s what I want,” said Siakam.

He was asked how he would feel if both he and fellow Cameroonian Embiid get voted in – another player helped along by their countryman, NBA veteran Luc Mbah a Moute.

“Just having Cameroon represented in that fashion, that would be at the top, something I don’t think Luc even saw coming,” said Siakam. “It would be an honour to have two guys from Cameroon in the all-star game. It would be crazy.”

The Sixers were missing Embiid Wednesday, their most recognizable player. He has been out for eight games after a gruesome hand injury suffered in a recent game against the Brooklyn Nets sent him for surgery.

For a third straight contest, the Raps began the game with their opening night starting five: Gasol, OG Anunoby, Siakam, VanVleet, and Lowry. Head coach Nick Nurse repeatedly says he plans to keep tinkering with the starting lineup, to ensure lots of experience with versatility come playoff time. With his squad back to full health, Nurse has lots of options.

Ben Simmons and Harris were the only 76ers on the floor Wednesday from the starting lineup that the 76ers trotted out against the Raptors in the playoffs last spring. These 76ers no longer have JJ Reddick nor Jimmy Butler, but they now have Al Horford.

The Raps slipped into a 14-point hole early in Wednesday’s contest as Horford was cooking offensively, along with Turkey’s Furkan Korkmaz off Philly’s bench. Gasol was shooting hot for Toronto, and Powell made an impact very quickly after checking in, erupting for a dunk to help build the energy as the Raptors were mounting a comeback.

The Raps had cut the lead to seven inside the second quarter when Patrick McCaw suffered a blow to the face that ended his night after just 17 seconds of playing time. The reserve guard remained outstretched on the floor for a long while squirming in pain, before medical staff hurried him to the locker room with a towel pressed to his bloodied face. The team later said McCaw broke his nose and would see a specialist in Toronto Thursday.

With two minutes left to go in the first half, the Raps finally pulled even with the Sixers. The tying bucket was the latest in a line of recent calm, cool three-pointers by the stoic Gasol since he returned last week from a hamstring injury that cost him 12 games. With cutting layups, fadeaway jumpers and a pair of deep threes, Toronto’s 7-foot-1 Spanish big man was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the opening two quarters to lead his team with 12 points.

“Spain should build a statue for Mr. and Mrs. Gasol,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown had said before the game, in reference to Gasol and his older NBA-playing brother Pau. Then he gushed about the talents of Toronto’s Gasol specifically, as if to foreshadow a solid night for the big guy.

The score was 50-50 as they broke for their locker rooms. Gasol continued his perfect shooting into the third quarter, yet Brown’s team managed to build up another 10-point lead. The Raps were struggling to contain Harris, and rookie Matisse Thybulle too.

VanVleet, who had been lukewarm much of the night – just 3-of-8 from the field in the first half – suddenly found a spark. He hit a pair of three-pointers, dished out four savvy assists and helped Toronto back into it.

The Raps had swung the momentum wildly once again, closing the third quarter on a 13-4 run that seized a 76-72 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was tense, as neither team pulled too far ahead until the very end. Ibaka and Powell were on the floor with Lowry, Siakam and VanVleet in the late going. Powell and Ibaka had some dunks that made the noise swell within the arena. But it was VanVleet’s trio of three-balls that stole the show, and put the 76ers away.

Nurse reasoned that perhaps it is the freshness gained in VanVleet’s recent five-game absence with a hamstring injury.

“He’s playing good. Again, I think the fresh legs thing, we’ve seen the benefits for just about everybody, right?,” said Nurse, likening him to Gasol and Powell after their returns from injury. “And he is a really good shooter, let’s hope he keeps up at that pace.”

The Raptors’ next two games are out on the road, Friday against the New York Knicks and Sunday versus the San Antonio Spurs.