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Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam combine for 49 points as Toronto Raptors defeat Philadelphia 76ers

Scott Rafferty

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Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam combine for 49 points as Toronto Raptors defeat Philadelphia 76ers image

Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam came up big for the Toronto Raptors once again.

In a 101-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, VanVleet and Siakam led the way with a combined 49 points. VanVleet set the tone early while Siakam dominated down the stretch to deliver the Raptors the win.

The Raptors also got a boost out of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Josh Richardson was Philadelphia's leading scorer with 25 points. Ben Simmons fell a rebound shy of a triple-double, but he scored only 10 points and committed a game-high seven turnovers.

Joel Embiid, however, was the story of the line. He was scoreless on 0-for-11 shooting, struggling once again against Marc Gasol and Toronto's swarming defence.

For more on the game, check below for updates, highlights and stats.

Final score: Raptors 101, 76ers 96

— The Raptors hold on to the win. Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons both miss 3-pointers on the final possession and Pascal Siakam caps off the Raptors win with a dunk in transition.

— Another big play by Pascal Siakam, this time on defence. He breaks up an alley-oop from Ben Simmons to Tobias Harris and the Raptors secure the possession, forcing the 76ers to foul them.

Two free throws from Fred VanVleet gives the Raptors a three-point lead with 11 seconds to play.

— Huge play from Pascal Siakam. He attacks Al Horford in isolation, gets into the lane and makes a layup over Joel Embiid while getting fouled.

Siakam puts the Raptors ahead 97-96 with 1:01 to play.

— Joel Embiid's rough night continues. He gets called for an offensive foul, his fourth foul of the game.

— Marc Gasol goes 0-for-2. Still a two-point game.

— So much for the Raptors going cold. Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet hit 3-pointers to make it a two-point game.

Marc Gasol is heading to the free throw line for a chance to tie the game.

— The Raptors are going cold at the worst time. They haven't scored in nearly three minutes of play, paving the way for the 76ers to go on a 7-0 run. 

76ers lead, 94-88 with 4:39 to go.

— Wow. Four missed free throws in a row for the 76ers, one from Joel Embiid, three from Josh Richardson. It's still a one-point game.

— Joel Embiid goes to the free throw line and ... misses. He remains scoreless.

— Make that 0-for-9 for Joel Embiid after he misses a 3-pointer.

End of third quarter: Raptors 81, 76ers 80

— We have a close one going into the final quarter.

Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are leading the way for the Raptors with a combined 39 points. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has made a difference off the bench with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Ben Simmons came alive in the third quarter and is now up to 10 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. It's helped the 76ers overcome a rough game from Joel Embiid, who is still scoreless, now on 0-for-8 shooting.

The 76ers will need Embiid to give them something in the fourth quarter to pull off this win.

— Fred VanVleet continues to play well. He's up to 19 points, the second-most in the game. It's crazy to think he scored a total of 14 points in Toronto's second-round series with Philadelphia last season.

— Ben Simmons records his 10th assist of the game, giving him a double-double with 10 points.

— It's been the OG Anunoby show for the Raptors in the third quarter. He has eight points in the frame, knocking down two 3s and getting a dunk in transition.

Raptors lead 68-62.

— An aggressive start to the second half for Ben Simmons. He's scored six of his eight points in the third quarter.

End of second quarter: Raptors 51, 76ers 49

— The Raptors survive without a point guard to end the second quarter thanks to a 3-pointer and a layup by Pascal Siakam. He's up to 16 points in the game.

The Raptors have done well against Philadelphia's All-Stars so far. Ben Simmons has eight assists, but he has turned the ball over four times and scored only two points. Joel Embiid, meanwhile, is scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting.

It's reportedly the first time in his career that Embiid has gone scoreless in the first half of a game.

—  The Raptors survive without a point guard to end the second quarter thanks to a 3-pointer and a layup by Pascal Siakam.

— Fred VanVleet picks up his third foul with 4:12 remaining in the second quarter. He's done for the half, so big few minutes coming up for the Raptors, who are now without a point guard — Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Marc Gasol are on the court for Toronto.

— Pascal Siakam makes it a 10-0 run for the Raptors and puts them ahead 44-39. 76ers timeout.

— Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is doing his thing early on. He's scored nine points off the bench for the Raptors, doing so on 4-for-6 shooting from the field. He also has four rebounds, two of which have come on the offensive glass.

Related: Toronto has regained the lead.

— Marc Gasol is doing a good job on Joel Embiid once again. Embiid is still scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting from the field.

— Josh Richardson opens the second quarter with a midrange pull-up. He's up to 13 points.

End of first quarter: 76ers 34, Raptors 28

— Josh Richardson is picking up from where he left off. After scoring a season-high 32 points against the Heat on Saturday, he has 11 points after 12 minutes of play.

— 76ers call a timeout after a deep 3-pointer from Marc Gasol cuts Philadelphia's lead to one point.

Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are leading the 76ers early on. Harris has a team-high eight points while Simmons has a game-high five assists.

— A bad sign for the Raptors: Fred VanVleet has two fouls. He's going to the bench.

— A good sign for the Raptors: Fred VanVleet has already made two 3-pointers. He combined to make ... one 3-pointer against the 76ers in last season's Eastern Conference Semifinals.

— Quick start for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam drains a pull-up 3-pointer over Ben Simmons to put the Raptors ahead 8-0.

— Interesting. The 76ers have Ben Simmons guarding Pascal Siakam to start the game, not Joel Embiid. It was Embiid who guarded Siakam the most from Game 2 onwards in last season's series. Embiid is guarding OG Anunoby instead.

Pregame

— Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol will start for the Raptors. 

— Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid will start for the 76ers.

— Furkan Korkmaz (ankle) is available for the 76ers. Kyle O'Quinn (calf) is out.

— The Raptors will be without Matt Thomas (fractured finger) against the 76ers, leaving them with 10 available players, plus Shamorie Ponds, who is reportedly active .

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Scott Rafferty

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Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.