Reggie Evans leads Toronto Raptors to their fourth-straight win
The Toronto Raptors bagged their fourth-straight win when they hammered out a convincing 106-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, behind Reggie Evans’ huge night, on Wednesday 24 November
at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Evans, who is ranked fourth in the NBA rebounding leaders this season, scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds, and the hard-working forward said that their fans
in the upper deck of the stadium was the reason his impressive performances this season.
“You have so many people who go out there and work so hard to buy a Raptors ticket,” said Evans, who is averaging 11.8 rebounds prior to the game. “They want to come here and see somebody
work just as hard as they do in the real world. A lot of times, they appreciate it more to see a guy go out there and bust his butt. That way they get their money's worth when they see the Raptors play.”
Andrea Bargnani also had a share of the spotlight as the Italian big man came out firing to finish the game with 24 points and five rebounds, while Jose Calderon added 16 points and nine
assists for the Raptors, who improved their record to 6-9 after starting the season with a 1-8 record.
Toronto raced to an early 15-point lead at the end of the first quarter and they remained focused in the second period to end the half with a comfortable 62-43 lead. Philadelphia tried to
comeback with fourth-quarter rally and they managed to pull within ten points, 98-88, but the Raptors buckled down with their defence to escape with the convincing win.
Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia’s attack with his 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and the high-flying forward also admitted that he was impressed with his former 76ers team-mate’s,
Evans, effort on the glass.
“It's just about hard work,” said Iguodala, who shot 6-for-13 from the field. “There is no equation behind that. He just goes out there and works hard and you can only respect that. If anything,
our guys should learn from the way he plays the game.”
Philadelphia’s second-year forward Jrue Holiday added 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Thaddeus Young chipped in 14 points for the 76ers, who absorbed a heart-breaking 116-114
overtime loss against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night 23 November.
The 76ers also played without starting power-forward Elton Brand, who served his one-game suspension after committing a flagrant foul in their game against the Wizards.
“I thought we played tired early,” said 76ers head coach Doug Collins. “We had a lot of guys play heavy minutes. I think Andre played 50 minutes last night, and we had no Elton Brand. It's
tough for us to come down and throw the ball in the post and calm the game down because we don't have a post presence without him.”
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