- Toronto Raptors defeated the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers last night, 125-121.
- The champs were led by Nick Nurse’s assistant Adrian Griffin.
- Toronto came back after trailing by a double-digit difference in the last period.
Griffin’s Magical Night
Nick Nurse left Adrian Griffin on the bench against the 76ers, and one of his closest associates responded with a win. Griffin, a 46-year old who didn’t have such a tremendous playing career, indicated that he might be much better as a head coach.
Under his leadership, the Raptors defeated 76ers 125-121, with Stanley Johnson delivering the game-winning points in the last half a minute of the game. With 30.6 seconds to go, Johnson’s driving layup tied the result at 121-all. After that, the 24-year old small forward made a five-footer to give his team a 123-121 edge.
The Sixers had a chance to change the result, but they lost the ball after an inbound pass, handing a win to the reigning NBA champions.
“First, I have to thank coach Nurse. He didn’t have to do this. Honestly, for one night, I felt like Cinderella. I had the glass slippers on, and it was great. Tomorrow it’s back to reality, but it was an awesome feeling,” said Griffin.
What makes his debut even sweeter, is the fact that his side constantly trailed during this event. Philly was up right from the beginning, going up 16 points in the opening period, 32-16.
The Raptors would cut that in the early second, but then again fell behind during the middle of the same, once Philadelphia went to 49-35. That didn’t discourage Griffins’ crew, who was back in the saddle in the third. Then again, Philly made the push in the middle of the final sequence, to reach a 111-101 lead after Matisse Thybulle’s jumper.
But even that wasn’t enough for the sixth-seeded side in the East to win this event. Toronto’s late fury secured Griffin his first win, and a 6-1 record since the start of the bubble.
“We were really excited for him,” Norman Powell said. “We wanted to go out there and play hard and help him get his win as a head coach. I thought we did that throughout the game.”
Embiid Leaves Earlier, Chris Boucher Excellent Off the Bench
Joel Embiid took a hit to his hand and left the game after only 14 minutes of play. The Process skipped the previous match due to ankle injury, and the latest development raises a lot of concerns among the 76ers’ fans. He scored 5 points and had 9 rebounds while playing.
Tobias Harris had 22 points with six boards and five assists, posting a team-high for Philly. Raul Neto added 17 with five assists, off the bench while Mike Scott scored 12, also coming off the bench.
Josh Richardson ended the night with 10 same as Thybulle.
On the other side, Chris Boucher delivered 19 points in 22 minutes, coming off the bench, with nine rebounds and four rejections. The athletic forward also hit four threes in his six attempts.
Kyle Lowry also scored 10, Powell 17, Siakam 15 with 9 boards. Marc Gasol had 11 and VanVleet 10.
The Raptors play the last game against the Nuggets, while Philadelphia meets Houston. Both games are on Friday.
