76ers-Raptors Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 11 2012 12:57AM

Clinging to one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers are desperately trying to string together some victories.

They look to win consecutive games for the first time in a month when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Philadelphia (30-27) earned its first April win and snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday with a 107-88 victory at New Jersey. Lou Williams had 20 points while fellow reserves Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes each scored 19 as the 76ers also ended a four-game road skid, officially eliminating the Nets from the playoff race.

The 76ers, 5-10 since a three-game winning streak March 7-11, are in the mix with New York and Milwaukee for the final two playoff spots in the East. Though Philadelphia is currently in seventh place, it has not recently resembled the club that led the Atlantic Division for a good portion of the season.

With a visit to Toronto (20-38) and another date with the Nets this week, the 76ers have a good opportunity to regain some momentum.

Williams, Young and Hawes, who each grabbed eight boards Tuesday to help the 76ers outrebound New Jersey 53-36, paced a Philadelphia bench that scored a season-high 62 points. It marked the first time in Hawes' 28 games this season that the 7-foot-1 center came off the bench.

"(Coach Doug Collins) told me before shootaround and obviously I wasn't happy," Hawes said about not starting. "I think anybody playing the game, you get news like that and you're not happy. There are two ways to go. You can sit there and sulk about it, or be a man, swallow it and then try to make the most of it."

Hawes, who totaled nine points in the previous two games, could be in the same role Wednesday as the 76ers try to win their second straight at Toronto.

The teams split the first two meetings this season, both in Philadelphia. After the 76ers held the Raptors to season lows for field-goal percentage (31.8) and points in a 97-62 win Jan. 7, Toronto snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 99-78 victory last Wednesday. Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points as the Raptors shot 50.6 percent overall and outscored Philadelphia 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

"It was just an excellent team effort. Guys stayed together," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

Bargnani has totaled 45 points and 16 rebounds versus Philadelphia this season, but he could miss a second straight game with calf tightness.

Toronto has averaged 84.3 points while losing three straight since beating the 76ers, but it nearly erased a 15-point deficit while scoring 36 points in the fourth quarter of Monday's 103-98 defeat at Indiana.

"I appreciate the guys' effort," Casey said. "The fight was there. It wasn't pretty and again, all we can do is ask for that type of effort."

Linas Kleiza had a team-high 18 points off the bench as the Raptors fell short despite shooting 48.0 percent.

DeMar DeRozan was held to 10 points at Indiana, but finished with 18 at Philadelphia last week. He had 29 points in the Raptors' 107-94 loss in the teams' most recent meeting in Toronto on Jan. 26, 2011.

Young scores 17 points as 76ers beat Raptors 93-75

Posted Apr 12 2012 1:52AM

TORONTO (AP) Philadelphia coach Doug Collins had a special request for Lou Williams before the 76ers faced the Raptors: Bring back `Show your Love.'

Thaddeus Young scored 17 points, Nikola Vucevic had 12 and the 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 93-75 on Wednesday night, an important victory in their chase of a playoff berth.

Before sending his team out on the floor, Collins asked Williams to share his special, simple message of unity.

"It was something that I came up with last year," Williams explained. "I was just saying it when guys made a big shot or something, I would say `Show some love' to them and it kind of snowballed from there."

Collins hadn't heard it in a while and noticed the sentiment missing from his team's play, so he decided it was time to reinforce the message

"Tonight, for the first time in a long time, we did the `Show your love,"' Collins said. "That, to me, is when we start getting the spirit back of who we are. And when we play with that kind of energy and spirit, we're a damn good team."

Elton Brand scored 11 points and Andre Iguodala, Spencer Hawes and Louis Williams each had 10 as the 76ers avenged a 21-point home loss to Toronto last Wednesday, a game in which the Raptors held the Sixers to 22 points in the second half, and just seven points in the fourth quarter.

This time, the 76ers blew the game open in the fourth, outscoring Toronto 30-18 and coasting to victory thanks to an 11-0 run. The Raptors went scoreless for 4:16 late in the game.

"When we were winning, it was a joy to play this game," Brand said. "We're trying to get back to that level.

"The world was falling on us when we lost four in a row," he added. "Now we win two, we're right back to feeling good about ourselves."

Jrue Holliday had eight points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from March 7 to 11 and strengthened their hold on seventh place in the East.

"We're fighting for our playoff lives," Brand said.

Just as he did in Tuesday's win at New Jersey, Collins held Hawes and Evan Turner out of the starting lineup, replacing them with Vucevic and Jodie Meeks.

Ed Davis had 13 points and 13 rebounds, Alan Anderson scored 13 points and DeMar DeRozan added 11 as Toronto lost its fourth straight. Gary Forbes had 10 points.

Toronto coach Dwane Casey was upset that his team was outscored 58-20 on points in the paint.

"The paint game really hurt us," Casey said. "We just didn't have any resistance."

The Raptors were without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani, who remains sidelined with a strained left calf, for a second straight game. It's the same injury that forced Bargnani to miss 27 games earlier this season.

Tied at 20 after one quarter, Philadelphia got six points from Williams and five from Young in the second to open a 42-37 lead at the half.

The 76ers pulled farther away with a 9-0 run to start the third, taking a 51-37 lead with 9:24 left. But Anderson led the Raptors back, scoring eight points as Toronto cut the gap to 63-57 heading to the fourth.

One week after Jose Calderon caught an accidental elbow from Brand in Toronto's win at Philadelphia, the Spanish guard was smacked in the right eye again in this one, forced to the locker room for three stitches after a collision with Holliday in the third. Calderon returned to the bench in the fourth but did not re-enter the game.

"He's going to look like Rocky whether he wants to or not," Casey said.

Collins considered Calderon's departure a lucky break for his team.

"I call (Calderon) the head of the snake," Collins said. "He's the guy that makes it go. When he went out, obviously, it was a huge advantage for us."

Philadelphia lost Young early in the fourth when he was accidentally poked in the eye by Davis as they battled for a rebound under the Toronto basket. Young returned to the game after receiving treatment.

Toronto forward Linas Kleiza left the game at halftime with a sore right knee and did not return.

NOTES: The 76ers had 27 assists to Toronto's 18 and improved to 30-10 in games when they have more assists than their opponent. They are 1-17 in games when they have as many or fewer assists. ... Toronto Blue Jays pitchers Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero attended the game.

Notebook: Sixers 93, Raptors 75

Posted Wednesday April 11, 2012 10:40PM

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Philadelphia 76ers (31-27) defeated the Toronto Raptors (20-39) 93-75 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night, winning their second in a row. The Sixers took the season series 2-1 and are fighting for one of the remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They played like a team fighting for something tonight while the Raptors did not, as Philly controlled the action for much of the game, leading by as much as 23 in the final quarter.

The 76ers had a balanced attack with six players in double-figures led by Thaddeus Young's 17 off the bench. Nikola Vucevic scored 12, Elton Brand added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Andre Iguodala, Spencer Hawes and Lou Williams added 10 points apiece.

The Raptors lost their fourth game in a row and started the game without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani who was inactive with a left calf strain. Before the final buzzer sounded Linas Kleiza left the game with a sore left knee and Jose Calderon left the game to get three stitches above his right eye. Ed Davis led what was left of the Raptors team with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds off the bench, while Alan Anderson also scored 13 points.

QUOTABLE: "As a coach, we had six guys in double-figures, another with eight, seven and six. My goal is trying to get more guys playing better and I think we're seeing it."
-- Sixers head coach Doug Collins

THE STAT: The Sixers controlled the interior, outscoring the Raptors 58-20 in the paint. The Raptors inability to score inside forced them to settle for outside shots, which contributed to a .363 percent field-goal percentage for the night.

TURNING POINT: The fourth quarter showed the difference between a team fighting for a playoff spot and a team that is unable to compete for a playoff spot. The Sixers went on a commanding 16-5 run to slam the door shut and take a 23-point lead, their biggest of the game.

HOT: Davis was the only one working for the Raptors in the first half scoring seven of the team's 17 points in the second quarter and adding nine rebounds in the frame, four of which came on the offensive end. He finished the first half with seven points, 10 rebounds and one assist.

NOT: The Raptors team shot a collective .363 per cent from the field for the game on 29-for-80 shooting. Amir Johnson and James Johnson were the worst offenders shooting a collaboratively woeful 3-for-19 from the floor.

NOTABLE: Bargnani was inactive with the same left calf strain that sidelined him for 27 games earlier this season. The Raptors are 7-21 without him in the line-up ... The Raptors' 75 points were a season low at home ... The Sixers had three players finish in double-figures off the bench (Young 17, Hawes 10, Williams 10) ... Davis' five assists were a career high ... The Sixers shot a season-low from .100 (1-for-30) from three-point range ... Their one 3-pointer was also a season low.

UP NEXT: Toronto plays on Friday vs. Boston, then are @ Atlanta on Sunday and back home vs. Atlanta on Monday. Philadelphia plays on Friday vs. New Jersey, then @ Orlando on Monday and vs. Indiana on Tuesday.

• 76ers: --
• Raptors: Bargnani, Bayless

• 76ers: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #52 Scott Twardoski, #23 Jason Phillips, #6 Tony Brown
• Attendance: 16324
• Duration: 2:02