Joel Embiid scored 36 points, including the go-ahead layup with 51.3 seconds left in the game, and grabbed 11 rebounds as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers held on to defeat the depleted Toronto Raptors 114-109 Tuesday night.
Tobias Harris added a triple-double with 19 points, a career-best 10 assists and 12 rebounds and made four free throws in the final minute.
Georges Niang scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the 76ers, who have won three of their past four games. Seth Curry added 12 points and Furkan Korkmaz had 10.
Chris Boucher had 28 points and matched his career best with 19 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost two straight.
Toronto also got 28 points from Pascal Siakam, who returned from safety and health protocols, as did Gary Trent Jr., who scored 19. Yuta Watanabe added 10 points.
The 76ers took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. They stretched it to 12 with 8:38 to play when Niang made two straight 3-pointers. Toronto came back with a 9-0 run, but Embiid's 3-pointer bumped the lead to six with 3:15 to play.
Toronto cut the lead to two on Trent's jumper, and he came back with a 3-pointer for a one-point lead with 1:41 left.
Embiid's layup gave the 76ers a one-point lead in the final minute. Harris added two free throws with 16.8 seconds to play and two more with 6.1 seconds left.
Philadelphia led 27-24 after the first quarter.
Curry's jumper with 3:01 left in the second quarter increased the lead to eight. Trent made two 3-pointers, cutting the lead to three. Curry ended the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer and Philadelphia led 55-48.
Boucher made three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter to cut the lead to three. Philadelphia responded with an 8-2 surge.
Toronto took a two-point lead with 2:02 remaining in the third after Svi Mykhailiuk made two 3-pointers and a free throw. Philadelphia finished the third with a 9-3 run to lead 85-81.
Toronto was without Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Justin Champagnie and Isaac Bonga because of health and safety protocols. Philadelphia was without Danny Green, Shake Milton and Andre Drummond for the same reason.
-reuters
