Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) drives past Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015.Bill Streicher
Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and Luis Scola had 21 to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 119-103 victory over the winless Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
One year after starting 0-17, the sorry Sixers have lost their first eight games of this season.
Philadelphia has lost 18 straight games dating to March 27, 2015. That's the fourth-longest mark in franchise history, one shy of the 19 straight dropped from March 21, 1972, to Nov. 10, 1972.
The Sixers matched an NBA record with 26 straight losses from Jan. 31, 2014, to March 27, 2014, and also lost 20 straight from Jan. 9, 1973, to Feb. 11, 1973.
The schedule is cruel for the Sixers, with games ahead against Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Dallas.
Scola scored 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the third quarter and helped Toronto put away the game.
Lowry, a Philadelphia native who played two seasons at Villanova, heard polite applause during pregame introductions and gave the hometown fans plenty of reason to cheer. He scored 14 points in the first half, capped by a 27-footer with 0.9 seconds left to send the Raptors into halftime with a 63-57 lead. The Raptors built a 20-point lead in the third and left no doubt about the outcome.
Not that there was any at tipoff.
While the Raptors had four starters in double-digit scoring, the Sixers started marginal NBA players JaKarr Sampson, Nik Stauskas and T.J. McConnell. Stauskas, a noted 3-point shooter at Michigan, has struggled from the arc in the NBA. He missed of 5 of 7 against the Raptors and entered only shooting 29 per cent overall on 3s.
Jahlil Okafor led the Sixers with 26 points and had seven rebounds. McConnell had 13 assists and Jerami Grant had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
TIP-INS:
Raptors: The Raptors beat the Sixers for the ninth straight time, the longest winning streak on either side in 20 years of the series. ... They play their next six games against the Western Conference.
Sixers: F Nerlens Noel sat out his second straight game with sore wrists from a fall suffered last week in Cleveland. ... F Richaun Holmes sat out with a strained right hamstring. ... They assigned injured guards Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League to continue their rehab. The Sixers put Marshall on the inactive list.
SO SORRY:
Toronto coach Dwane Casey said he did not want to look back at a referee mistake that cost them in the final minute of a 111-109 loss to New York on Tuesday night. Crew chief Ed Malloy said postgame that Carmelo Anthony stepped out of bounds and the ball should have been awarded to Toronto.
Casey said he was an advocate of replay in a situation like that one.
"We have some of the best officials in the league, in the world," Casey said. "It's honourable that the league admits it, but you take that and $3 and you won't get a cup of coffee."
Sixers owner Josh Harris also apologized after his helicopter landed on the New Jersey field where two youth soccer teams were scheduled to play. The helicopter was at the school Sunday night to pick up Harris after a Devils game at the Prudential Center that went into overtime. Harris, who also owns the Devils, said the mix-up won't happen again and invited the teams and their families to be his guests at a Devils game.
UP NEXT:
Raptors: Host New Orleans on Friday.
Sixers: Play Friday at Oklahoma City.