Ibaka leads Raptors past 76ers
TORONTO -- Serge Ibaka scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 113-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
The Raptors shot 54 percent from the field as they took the season series from the 76ers 3-1.
Toronto (47-30) had a 10-point lead after three quarters and expanded it to 17 with less than four minutes left. The 76ers cut the deficit to six in the final minute, but the Raptors were in control.
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points and nine assists for the Raptors, who have won two in a row and eight of their past nine games. Toronto moved a half-game up on the Wizards in the race for third place in the Eastern Conference pending Washington's result at Golden State on Sunday night.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Toronto. Jakob Poeltl added 12 points, and Norman Powell and DeMarre Carroll each chipped in with 10.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 23 points to lead the 76ers, who have lost three in a row. Dario Saric added 16, Nik Stauskas 14, Gerald Henderson 12 and Alex Poythress 11 for Philadelphia (28-49).
The 76ers led 29-28 after the first quarter with Luwawu-Cabarrot scoring 11 points.
The Raptors led by 12 on a hook shot by Valanciunas with 1:39 to play in the second quarter.
The lead reached 14 on two free throws by Ibaka with 1:01 to play in the first half.
The Raptors led 59-49 at the intermission with Ibaka scoring 18 points while DeRozan was held to six.
Ibaka's 15-foot jumper with 9:36 left in the third quarter restored Toronto's 14-point lead.
The 76ers score the next 10 points to trim the lead to four.
DeRozan scored his first points of the second half when he drained a 16-footer to give Toronto a seven-point lead with 5:31 to play in the quarter.
The Raptors led 86-76 after three quarters.
Fred VanVleet scored five straight points in his first action of the game early in the fourth quarter and Toronto led by 12. Powell's dunk returned the lead to 14.
Powell completed a 3-point play with a free throw to give Toronto a 17-point lead with 3:49 remaining.
NOTES: Toronto F P.J. Tucker (sore left knee) did not play Sunday. ... Philadelphia signed F Alex Poythress on Sunday under the NBA's injury hardship exemption, which allows them to add a 16th player to their roster because they have at least four players who are out for two weeks after missing three games. Poythress, who played at Kentucky and was undrafted last year averaged 18.5 points and 7.1 rebounds with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. ... The 76ers return home to play the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. ... The Raptors play their next game Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.