3 observations after post-Harden Sixers beat Raptors again, improve to 3-1

3 observations after post-Harden Sixers beat Raptors again, improve to 3-1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Make that 2-0 against Toronto.

The Sixers notched a 114-99 win over the Raptors on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, improving to 3-1 with a second victory vs. Toronto.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. each scored 23 points. Tyrese Maxey added 18.

Scottie Barnes was the 2-4 Raptors' top scorer with 24 points. Toronto's Precious Achiuwa, Otto Porter Jr. and Christian Koloko were sidelined.

None of the four new Sixers following their deal to send James Harden to the Clippers played meaningful minutes Thursday. However, Robert Covington and KJ Martin did check in for a bit of garbage time.

Nicolas Batum was out because of personal reasons. Covington, Martin and Marcus Morris Sr. have had minimal time to get up to speed, but they may very well be in the mix when the Sixers play Saturday afternoon vs. the Suns.

Here are observations on the Sixers' victory Thursday night:

Oubre the starter, Korkmaz the rotation player 

Oubre started and drew Barnes on defense. Unfortunately for Oubre, Barnes was at his best offensively in the opening minutes.

The third-year forward scored 12 of Toronto’s first 15 points, including a wide-open transition three-pointer. Soon after, he pump faked on Oubre and drove in for a layup.

Oubre did chip in five early points of his own, but he also picked up two quick fouls and checked out under six minutes into the game.

Along with Patrick Beverley, Furkan Korkmaz then subbed in. That was a significant surprise, given Korkmaz played no rotation minutes over the Sixers’ first three games. As Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has constantly said, he’s always inclined to experiment and evaluate what he’s got.

Korkmaz played 22 minutes and finished with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting and three steals. No question he boosted his chances of further rotation time when the Sixers are at full strength.

Jaden Springer was next off the Sixers’ bench. His rebounding has shined to begin the season; the 21-year-old snagged both an offensive board and a defensive board early in his first stint Thursday. De’Anthony Melton’s proven himself to be a strong guard rebounder, and Springer seems to possess some of the same qualities — anticipating plays well; high pointing the ball effectively; playing physically and in traffic without hesitation.

When Melton and Oubre were each called for their third foul late in the second quarter, Springer and Korkmaz both entered again.

The two helped the Sixers close the first half very well. The Sixers scrambled hard on defense and also looked especially sharp in putting out potential fires like bad cross-matches in transition. Their high pick-up points and active hands disrupted the Raptors’ guards, too. Springer seized a loose ball in the backcourt and kicked it out to Korkmaz for a crowd-pleasing three that grew the Sixers’ lead to 56-47.

Korkmaz had a few moments when he was out of sync with his teammates, but he’s rarely shy about shooting or low on confidence. The same can be said for Oubre, who caught fire late in the third quarter.

“He’s been really good,” Nurse said. “He scored 20 points a game last season … so the capability to drive and shoot is there. Again, I think his athleticism — and he’s got a high compete level. He’s competing at both ends.

“I thought he made some kind of interesting plays tonight. When we needed a little boost here and there, he made some plays to keep the momentum rolling our way or turn it back our way. He’s been a good pickup, that’s for sure.”

Korkmaz naturally registered the highlight of the night with 0.7 seconds left in the third when he swiped the ball from Chris Boucher, ran the floor, took a one-handed pass from Embiid and ultimately converted a high-hang time, and-one reverse layup.

“Furk, he hadn’t played as of yet,” Harris said. “Gets in there tonight and is just super stable out there. He was able to play make, get into the lane, and he was scrappy on the defensive end as well. He just did all the little things out there tonight for us. I was super proud of him having that type of effort, that type of night.”

Harris stays hot out of the gates

Harris was the primary defender on Pascal Siakam, who didn’t score until the 7:03 mark of the second quarter. For the game, Siakam had just 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

While Harris doesn’t rapidly fly all over the floor, he’s made some impressive off-ball defensive plays early this season. On Thursday, Harris recognized Malachi Flynn curling toward the rim off a screen, swiveled around to steal Jakob Poeltl’s pass, then took off down the floor for a lefty lay-in.

His diligence against Siakam was valuable.

“Tobias was really good on the offensive end, but he was just as good on the defensive end,” Nurse said. “I think it starts with just being determined to make his catches hard. They run little knock-off screens for him to get free, and Tobias did a great job of just avoiding those and being right there on the catch.

“So he’s not relaxing, he’s having to work hard just to get the ball. ... When a possession can start well, it’ll usually end well defensively, and he did a good job of getting our defensive possessions in the half court started well.”

Offensively, Harris has been excellent both pushing the ball forward in transition and looking for other chances to score interior points early in the shot clock. That’s contributed to very efficient offense; Harris started 5 for 5 from the floor vs. the Raptors.

Through four games, he’s made 63.8 percent of his field goals and 47.1 percent of his threes.

Embiid in the middle of it all

Embiid's outing wasn't always pretty, but he often seemed to like it that way.

Though Embiid didn't have a great shooting night and wasn't flawless against double teams, he shot 12 for 13 at the foul line and attacked Poeltl hard when the Sixers needed to halt Toronto runs.

That included a stretch in the middle of the third quarter when the Sixers were struggling and allowed the Raptors to tie the game at 64-all on an and-one Poeltl layup. Embiid went at Poeltl over and over again from the middle of the floor. The reigning MVP also showed off his wing-like skills here and there, like when he pivoted back and forth before sinking a turnaround jumper.

The Sixers built a lead as high as 18 points, but they couldn't push Toronto out of the game. Embiid had to check back in with 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Sixers' advantage at 11.

However, the Sixers never appeared in true danger. Embiid was the game's best player, but the Sixers got a variety of good efforts to notch a solid win in their first game post-Harden trade. Oubre's fifth three-pointer with 2:23 to go just about iced it.

“Throughout training camp, we’ve been working and everybody’s prepared to step in, showcase what they can do and play just great team basketball, offensively and defensively,” Harris said. “I thought tonight you saw a great example of that.”