There was definitely a feeling of relief on a number of fronts when the Sixers held on for Monday’s 117-111 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors.
First off, it was the Sixers’ first win of the season against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference standings — Boston, the Raptors and Cleveland. The Sixers had been 0-8 against the three.
Even more importantly, the Sixers wanted to show that they could close a game out against a quality team. Just the game before, the Sixers had squandered a 22-point lead in last Thursday’s 114-103 loss to the Boston Celtics in London.