Korkmaz erupts in Sixers’ victory over Raptors

By Kevin McCormick, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Sixers would be back in action for part two of their mini-series against the Toronto Raptors. Despite Joel Embiid struggling from the floor, the Sixers' supporting cast would pick up the slack and help carry the load.

Six different Sixers would break double-figures in this game as the Sixers would walk away with a 109-102 victory, splitting the series. This win was their first victory over the Raptors on the road since 2012.

Furkan Korkmaz would be the breakout player for the Sixers in this game. He would get the chance to start in place of an injured Seth Curry and made the most of the opportunity.

Korkmaz would erupt from three to start the game en route to finishing as the team's second-lead scorer with 19 points. With a performance like this, he appears to be breaking out of his recent cold spell.

Before tonight's tip-off, the reserves for both All-Star teams would be announced. Ben Simmons would be named to his third straight All-Star team, while Tobias Harris would be left off. Harris would come out in this one and show why he was one of the snubs to not get a nomination this year.

He would start the game off slow but would hit multiple shots late in the game to help secure the win for the Sixers. In all, he would finish with 23 points (team-high), seven rebounds, and five assists. Harris would also get back to his efficient shooting, making eight of his 12 shot attempts and shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Simmons put on another solid performance since missing two games due to illness. He would go on and rack up 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. His impressive shooting from the foul line would also continue, hitting five of his six attempts.

Joel Embiid did a nice job handling the traps and double teams Nick Nurse threw at him in game one of this matchup, but the same can not be said for game two. The All-Star starter would still go on to score 18 points and grab 12 rebounds, but the defense would do a much better job containing him the second time around.

Three-point shooting was a major factor that led to the Sixers dropping Sunday's game. That would not be the case the second time around as they would be able to capitalize on the open looks they were generating.

As a team the Sixers would shoot 44.7% from deep, hitting 17 of their 38 attempts. What is most impressive about this stellar shooting night is that they did it without their best shooter in Seth Curry.

Looking ahead, the Sixers head back home for a four-game homestand to finish off the first half of the schedule. First up is a matchup against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

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