76ers at Raptors
DeMar DeRozan is hoping to make his long-awaited return for Toronto when it hosts Philadelphia on Wednesday. The star swingman has not played since Nov. 28 due to a groin injury, watching from the sidelines as the Raptors have gone 12-9, including losses in five of the past six games. Leading scorer Kyle Lowry was held to 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting and had seven turnovers as Toronto fell 114-111 to Detroit on Monday, dropping to 1-2 thus far on its six-game homestand.
The 76ers will have had little time to recover from a 107-89 home loss to Atlanta on Tuesday, just their second loss in five games following a 4-28 start. One of the largest of those early setbacks was a 120-88 loss in Toronto on Nov. 9, when DeRozan scored 24 points in 26 minutes. The Raptors have won five in a row in the series by an average of 14 points and are 6-0 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (7-30): Rookie Jerami Grant has taken advantage of some recent opportunities amid head coach Brett Brown's many rotation changes in another lost season. Grant scored a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the loss to Atlanta while hitting a pair of 3-pointers for the second straight game. The Syracuse product, who has eight blocked shots over his last five games, is 8-of-17 from beyond the arc since opening his career with nine straight misses.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (25-12): The loss to the Pistons occurred despite a monstrous effort from center Jonas Valanciunas, who scored a career-high 31 points on 14-of-15 shooting. The big man's numbers are often up and down, but lately he has taken advantage of opportunities when playing time has been in his favor. In his past five games while playing at least 30 minutes, Valanciunas is averaging 21.6 points on 61.3 percent shooting and 10 rebounds, compared to 10 points on 47.2 percent in his past five games in which he has fallen short of the 30-minute mark.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors F James Johnson is averaging 11.1 points on 63 percent shooting in seven starts.
2. 76ers F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is 1-for-10 from the floor in 45 minutes over his past two games.
3. Toronto ranks third in the NBA in scoring (107.8) while Philadelphia is last (90.6).