Andrea Bargnani has another splendid night as Toronto Raptors thump Philadelphia 76ers 99-78: NBA
On Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, the Philadelphia 76ers played host to the Toronto Raptors.
Andrea Bargnani, who came into the game having averaged 25 points in the previous 5 games, erupted with a game high 24 points while DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 18 points to help the Raptors defeat the 76ers 99-78, grabbing their
third win in a row.
Alan Anderson managed 13 points, Ed Davis had 14 rebounds and Jose Calderon scored 12 points and 13 assists for the Raptors.
Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand scored 20 points each for the Sixers while Andre Iguodala, who played despite suffering from a left eye contusion in the loss to Miami on Tuesday, could only manage 6 points. He also had 6 assists while
turning the ball over twice on the night.
In an overall team effort, the Raps were able to out-rebound their hosts by 46-29, with 11 of those coming on the offensive glass.
On the night, Raptors had more turnovers than their opponents, 11 as compared to the Sixers 7 but they managed to learn from their early mistakes in the second half as were able to defeat the Sixers, who fell to a record of 29-25.
In the first half there was not much to separate the two teams. With Elton Brand on fire, the Sixers were able to close the half leading the Raptors by one point 56-55. Brand had 14 points in the first 24 minutes of play.
In the second half, Philadelphia succumbed to intense defensive pressure by the visitors. With Bargnani leading the way with 20 points in the first three quarters, the Raptors managed to out play the visitors due to their impressive
all around ball movement.
The overall good play of the Raptors was rewarded with just over 4 minutes remaining in the third as they went on a 10-5 run to capture the lead 79-71.
In the closing quarter, Raptors turned the heat on the defensive end of the court as they restricted the 76ers to only 7 points in the whole period. In the second half, the Sixers scored only 22 points, which is the lowest second
half total any team has ever had at the Wells Fargo Center.
The intense defensive pressure by the visitors was highlighted by a 13-2 run which closed out the game.
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