Raptors Beat 76ers Behind Kawhi Leonard’s 36 Points

The Philadelphia 76ers, in second place in the NBA’s Atlantic Division at 17-8, went North of the border on December 5th to take on the first place Toronto Raptors, who, at 20-5, had the best record in the NBA going into the action.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points to lead the Raptors to their 21st win of the season as Toronto beat Philadelphia 113-102. Jonas Valanciunas had a huge game off the bench for Toronto with a season high 26 points. Jimmy Butler of Philadelphia led all scorers with 38. The 76ers have lost 13 straight in Canada, and Leonard has never lost to the 76ers in 12 games. Leonard scored 31 in the teams’ first meeting of the season back on October 30th, also in Toronto.

The other 10 wins over the 76ers for Leonard came during his first seven NBA seasons when he was with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard won an NBA Title with the Spurs in 2014, and was the Finals MVP. In the 2016-17 season, Leonard averaged a career high 25.5 points per game. Last season, Leonard was plagued by multiple injuries and appeared in only nine games. He had an ongoing dispute with the Spurs over the handling of his injuries, and did not play after January 13th, despite being cleared by the Spurs medical staff later in the season. His refusal to take the court caused friction in the locker room, and in the off season, the Spurs made a big name trade, sending Leonard and guard Danny Green to Toronto for the Raptor’s popular star guard DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Poeltl, and a draft choice.

De Rozan, along with other Raptors, was shocked by the trade, but he is having a fine season in Western Conference San Antonio, leading the Spurs in both points per game (24.3) and assists (5.9). But San Antonio has struggled with an 11-14 record, and with the Cleveland Cavaliers essentially not a factor, the race in the Eastern Conference is wide open for Toronto.