DeRozan once again lights up 76ers in Raptors win

TORONTO, Canada – DeMar DeRozan carried Toronto on his back for the second straight game as the red-hot Raptors continued their dominance over the Philadelphia 76ers with a 102-86 win on Saturday, December 23 (Sunday Manila time).

DeRozan, who scored a career-high 45 points Thursday against Philadelphia, came back with 29 points Saturday as the Raptors easily won the rematch.

Thanks to DeRozan’s heroics, Toronto led by 18 points entering the fourth quarter and held a 16-point lead after a Serge Ibaka dunk with 3:17 to play.

The Raptors have won 6 in a row and 12 of their past 13 games while the 76ers have lost 5 in a row and 9 of their past 10.

The Raptors are 18-1 against the 76ers since 2013-2014 and improved to 23-8 on the season.

Ibaka added 17 points for the Raptors, Delon Wright had 14 with Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas adding 12 each.

Dario Saric led the 76ers with 17 points and Joel Embiid had 14 points and eight rebounds in his first game back after back trouble sidelined him for three contests.

Amir Johnson tallied 12 and Ben Simmons finished with 10 points.

Embiid scored the Sixers’ first 8 points, but the Raptors led 55-46 at halftime.

The 76ers had 14 turnovers in the first half, leading to 21 Toronto points. – Rappler.com