76ers Down Raptors in Monday Night Overtime Battle

The third matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors this season ended with an overtime thriller.

The Philadelphia 76ers were on their biggest win streak of the season going into their Monday night battle against the Toronto Raptors.

Two weeks back, the Sixers formed their current streak beginning with a double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers. That victory was followed up with a Sunday night blowout against the Charlotte Hornets.

Last week, the Sixers opened up their week with a comfortable victory over the thriving Sacramento Kings. They finished out the short week by hosting the Golden State Warriors, who were down a few All-Stars.

While last Friday’s matchup had trap game written on it, the Sixers avoided it by turning their slow first-half performance around and snagging a 118-106 victory over Golden State. With that win, the Sixers made it four in a row for the first time this season.

With the Raptors in town for a third matchup against the Sixers, Philadelphia wanted to avoid falling into a first-half slump once again. The Raptors have not only been struggling, but they were also shorthanded in the matchup.

The Sixers were off to a solid start on Monday night. Through the first half of action, they drained 44 percent of their field goals and knocked down 41 percent of their threes. At halftime, the Sixers possessed a 57-46 lead, teasing a possible blowout win.

But the Raptors had a lot of fight in them. During the third quarter, Toronto shot at a high percentage, rallying off 32 points while holding the Sixers to just 21. After leading by as many as 14 points in the matchup, the Sixers and the Raptors entered the fourth quarter of Monday’s game tied at 78.

In the fourth quarter, neither team could pull away. Trading shots, the Sixers and the Raptors each produced 21 points in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s comeback wasn’t complete, but it was enough to send the game into overtime, which is familiar territory for the Sixers lately. 

The lone overtime period wasn’t pretty, but it was enough for the Sixers to claw out a win. Despite turning the ball over a few times and draining one basket from the field overall, the Sixers outscored the Raptors 5-2 in the final five minutes.

“It was not a great game of flow or anything like that,” Doc Rivers said after the matchup. “We just kind of hung in there and won the game. Those are the ones that you look back on through the season, and you take those wins.”

By taking down the Raptors in overtime with a 104-101 win, the Sixers built on their biggest win streak of the year by snagging number five to move to 17-12 on the year. They’ll get the day off on Tuesday before returning to the floor on Wednesday night to host the Detroit Pistons. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.