PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Tobias Harris hit a 3-pointer in overtime that put Philadelphia ahead to stay, and Joel Embiid had 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as the 76ers extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 104-101 win over the struggling Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a star in his role,鈥� Embiid said of Harris鈥� performance. 鈥漈hat鈥檚 what he鈥檚 been doing all season, knocking down big shots.鈥�
Harris put the Sixers ahead with 2:12 left in OT and finished with 21 points, making five of his seven 3-point attempts.
鈥淗e dedicated this summer to being a spot-up shooter, making shots, and he鈥檚 doing that,鈥� Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said of Harris鈥� evolution. 鈥淵ou can see he鈥檚 worked on improving the quickness of his release.鈥�
Harris then came down and made another 3-pointer on the next possession. The referees originally called a shooting foul on Scottie Barnes, which would have sent Harris to the line for a chance to complete the 4-point play, but after a review the referees determined that PJ Tucker committed an illegal screen before Harris鈥� shot.
鈥淚 still don鈥檛 understand the call. That will have to be explained to me,鈥� Rivers said of the sequence.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 gonna complain, but that was probably the most ridiculous game I鈥檝e ever been a part of. That鈥檚 all I鈥檒l say about that game,鈥� Embiid said, indirectly referencing the play. 鈥淚鈥檓 just glad we got the win. But the way the game was, it was ridiculous.鈥�
James Harden added 14 points for Philadelphia, which has won the first five games of a seven-game homestand, the Sixers鈥� longest of the season. The 76ers close out the stretch against the Pistons on Wednesday and Clippers on Friday.
The 76ers won despite a stellar performance from Toronto All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, whose 38-point performance was the highest point total allowed by 76ers this season. Siakam, whose driving layup with 5.1 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime, added 15 rebounds, six assists and strong defense down the stretch in a losing effort.
The Raptors used a 19-1 run, which stretched from late in the third quarter and into the start of the fourth, to erase Philadelphia鈥檚 lead, which reached as many as 14 points early in the third. Siakam fueled Toronto鈥檚 comeback, scoring 10 of Toronto鈥檚 19 points during the run.
鈥淲e got the win. Even when it鈥檚 ugly, it still counts. We were up a lot the whole night, they made that run at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth, but we reacted,鈥� Embiid said.
It is the sixth consecutive loss for the struggling Raptors, who fell to 13-18. Toronto shot just 42% from the field and 11 for 40 from 3-point range.
Besides Siakam鈥檚 38 points, no Toronto player scored more than 13. Fred VanVleet (nine points) shot just 3 for 15 from the field, and 2 for 11 from 3-point range.
鈥淚 like the way we hung in early .. but we hung in there and hung around and found a little bit of a stretch where we made a few,鈥� Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. 鈥淚 thought we were creating some really good shots. Probably not quite rewarded, percentage wire, for the quality of shots we did create.鈥�
TIP-INS
76ers: Philadelphia was playing without Furkan Korkmaz, who missed his second straight game with a non-COVID related illness, and without Tyrese Maxey, who is rehabilitating a fracture in his left foot that has caused him to miss the last 14 games.
Raptors: Toronto was without Precious Achiuwa, who has not played since Nov. 9th after tearing a ligament in his right ankle. The Raptors were also without Gary Trent Jr., who missed his third straight game because of a sore left quad. ... Toronto鈥檚 losing streak was just the third losing streak of five or more games during Nick Nurse鈥檚 five seasons with the Raptors. Both of the previous losing streaks came during the 2020-21 season, which saw the Raptors finish with a 27-45 record.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host the Pistons on Wednesday.
Raptors: Will play the Knicks in New York on Wednesday.
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The Associated Press
