NBA: In first game without Harden, Sixers down Raptors

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center on November 02, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Los Angeles, United States—Joel Embiid scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Philadelphia on Thursday to a 114-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the 76ers’ first NBA game since trading James Harden.

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tobias Harris added 23 points apiece and Tyrese Maxey had 18 for the 76ers, who notched a third straight victory and improved to 3-1 in a young season that had so far been overshadowed by Harden’s trade demand.

Maxey insisted that Harden’s professionalism meant there were no distractions for a team adjusting to new coach Nick Nurse.

“Everybody was really focused on trying to get better,” Maxey said of pre-season preparations. “This is Coach Nurse’s first year, so we were trying to learn schemes, learn how he thinks… there wasn’t much of a distraction at all.”

Nurse said before the game that from a competitive standpoint Harden’s trade to the Los Angeles Clippers “would have been better a month ago.”

READ MORE: NBA: James Harden ‘excited’ for title chance with Clippers

Of the new arrivals in the deal — Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin and Marcus Morris — only Covington and Martin entered the game — in the final minutes.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Embiid made just eight of 22 shots from the floor but connected on 12 of 13 from the free-throw line and handed out seven assists.

Oubre started in place of PJ Tucker — who was part of the Harden trade — and connected on five of six three-point attempts.

“He’s got a high compete level,” Nurse said of Oubre, who scored 10 points in the third quarter and drained a three-pointer in the fourth that helped halt a Raptors rally bid.

“He’s competing at both ends … when we kind of needed a little boost here and there he made some plays to kind of keep the momentum rolling our way or turning back our way.”

Thursday’s other games included another clash between the San Antonio Spurs and the Suns in Phoenix — two days after Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs rallied for a 115-114 triumph there.

The Suns had led by 20 points in the third quarter before the Spurs out-scored them 33-19 in the final frame to secure the victory, with French prodigy Wembanyama, the top pick in the NBA draft in June, playing a crucial role in the comeback.