Tyrese Maxey, Sixers guards lead in bounce-back victory over Raptors

According to PhillyVoice, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 123-112 after overcoming a slow start and an injury scare involving Joel Embiid. The Sixers rested LeBron James for the contest. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse justified the decision pregame, stating "it’s part of the long-term picture, and that’s where medical is at," as reported by PhillyVoice. The Raptors played without both Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, while the Sixers faced early trouble when Embiid went down after banging knees with Raptors wing Ja'Kobe Walter less than three minutes into the game at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Embiid limped to the locker room in significant pain but returned to the huddle before checking back in after Toronto's first timeout. Yahoo Sports noted that Joel Embiid scored 20 points in the victory following his knee injury scare. PhillyVoice reported that Embiid was moving much better by the end of the game than he had been on Tuesday night, sealing the win in part through a pair of mid-range jumpers. Before the game, Embiid addressed his recent performances, stating, "Quite frankly, I just haven’t been aggressive. So I think it’s on me to just be aggressive about making plays, whether it’s scoring or making plays for someone else," as covered by PhillyVoice. Tyrese Maxey provided steady early offense that prevented the Raptors from pulling away during the Sixers' mediocre start, according to PhillyVoice. Anfernee Simons added a buzzer-beating triple that reengaged the crowd, with Simons marking his fifth game out of 13 where his hot shooting saved the team. Simons discussed the team's ongoing adjustments pregame, stating, "We knew coming in, we’ve got so many great players. We're going to throw out so many different lineups. Each and every game is going to look different, and so it's an adjustment period just on that," as cited by PhillyVoice. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed timely three-pointers and point-of-attack defense, while VJ Edgecombe notched a season-high in assists alongside Caldwell-Pope. Up next, the Sixers have two days off before playing the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon in a back-to-back, according to PhillyVoice.