Philadelphia 76ers make it rain in assertive 135-120 win over Toronto Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers concluded their two-game road-stand tonight with a dominant 135-120 win over the Toronto Raptors. Philadelphia advances to 40-35 on the season, but the Miami Heat have a 1.5-game edge for possession of the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers drilled 24 three-pointers and shot 55.8% from beyond, which earned them a new franchise record in three-pointers made in a single game. Philadelphia accomplished this historic by doing what all teams need to do missing their stars, pushing the pace, and sharing the ball. 

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cam Payne lead 76ers with hot shooting

Kelly Oubre Jr. led the effort with a season-high 32 points and 7 rebounds on 6-11 shooting from the perimeter. Oubre vanquished Toronto’s defense as the 76ers got going on the open floor following defensive stops. Oubre routinely stepped into pull-up threes above the break and was a marksman from the corner as he nailed corner triples assisted by Kyle Lowry’s witty facilitating. 

Oubre catching fire from three is a welcomed change as he shot just 31.1% from beyond in the last 15 games. With Joel Embiid rumored to return soon, Oubre will only get cleaner perimeter looks and return to form as a consistent shooter.

Kelly Oubre tonight:

32 Points
7 Rebounds
3 Assists
2 Steals
2 Blocks
6/11 3PM pic.twitter.com/C9tT8xn2IV

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 1, 2024

After playing just 8 minutes over the past 2 games, Cam Payne returned to the starting lineup as a result of Tyrese Maxey taking tonight off due to left hip tightness. Payne filled Maxey’s shoes to the best of his ability, contributing 24 points and 3 assists on 6-10 shooting from three-point land.

Like Oubre, Payne was simply on a heater as he repeatedly canned above-the-break triples, but also utilized ball-screens and drained pull-up threes as the Raptors foolishly countered with drop coverage. Payne wasn’t shy about gunning from beyond the arc off the point-of-attack as well. 

Kyle Lowry’s facilitating unlocked 76ers’ perimeter attack

The 76ers also got strong contributions from Tobias Harris (21 points and 9 rebounds), Nicolas Batum (19 points on 5-6 shooting from three), and Buddy Hield (13 points on 3-5 perimeter shooting). 

All of this was possible because of Kyle Lowry’s superior ability as a floor general as Lowry tallied 11 points and 10 assists. Lowry’s pick-and-roll gravity drew in defenders who were weary of the veteran guard maneuvering into the paint and subsequently opened up the floor for corner shooters like Batum. 

Kyle Lowry's 11-point, 10-assist double-double tonight thus far marks his second point-assist double-double as a 76er.

Lowry so far: 4-6 FG / 3-5 3FG

— Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) April 1, 2024

Outside of the pick-and-roll, Lowry orchestrating plays for Hield to come off screens and fire and finding Harris in stride to do his one-on-one damage was vital for the 76ers’ offense. Lowry had no issue pulling up from beyond in transition and hitting spot-up threes as he shot 3-5 from beyond the arc.

Lowry, Batum, and Hield are also players who will significantly benefit from Embiid’s presence. With Embiid naturally drawing multiple defenders in the post, Batum and Hield will have significantly more spot-up opportunities and Lowry will be right there to feed Embiid clean entry passes as his job as Embiid will make Lowry’s role as the floor general look incredibly easy. 

The 76ers will return to Philadelphia on Tuesday and face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:30 p.m. EST exclusively on TNT.

Mandatory Credit: (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)