TORONTO – Tyrese Maxey scored 15 of his 34 points in the second quarter, as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-107 on Saturday night.
Joel Embiid also scored 34 points to go with nine rebounds, eight assists and two blocks to help make new coach Nick Nurse a winner on his return to Toronto.
Nurse, who coached the Raptors for the previous five seasons, was honoured with a video tribute during the first quarter. The 56-year-old guided the Canadian team to their only National Basketball Association championship in 2019.
“(Kelly Oubre Jr) said before the game, ‘We’re going to win this one for coach’,” Maxey said. “That’s what we went out there and did.
“It was crazy ironic that we were playing (Toronto) and it’s his first win. Congratulations to him, many more to come.”
Nurse added: “I would say that I wasn’t maybe ready for coming back this quick.
“It felt way stranger than I thought it was going to feel.”
Nurse said of Maxey: “It seemed like he had 30 points every time we played them when I was coaching against him, so it’s nice to see him continue that with me around. He’s really amazing.”
Oubre scored 18 points for the 76ers, who have now split their first two games of the season. Tobias Harris contributed 15 points.
The Raptors have lost two of their first three under new coach Darko Rajakovic.
Scottie Barnes scored 24 points for Toronto. Gary Trent Jr added 17 and rookie Gradey Dick contributed 16 points, while Dennis Schroder scored 15 and Pascal Siakam had 11 points.
Embiid had 16 first-half points while Trent led Toronto in the first half with 14 points.
With Toronto ahead 59-56 at half-time, Philadelphia seized the initiative with a 15-2 run in the third quarter and ended it 91-79 for a 12-point lead, which they never relinquished.
“We just did not have the juice that stretch there,” Rajakovic said of his team’s third-quarter collapse.
Toronto played without O.G. Anunoby (leg cramps). Philadelphia were without James Harden (conditioning).
Meanwhile, Chicago’s Zach LaVine scored 51 points in a losing cause, with the Bulls falling at Detroit 118-102.
LaVine hit 19 of 33 shots from the floor, including seven of 13 from three-point range, and made six of eight from the free-throw line.
But Cade Cunningham scored 25 points and passed off 10 assists, while Jalen Duren added 23 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to lead the Pistons to victory. REUTERS, AFP
