Inside Sixers: Kyle Lowry’s Toronto curtain call, Joel Embiid’s All-Star push and more from a 2-1 road trip

TORONTO — Photos from Kyle Lowry’s fabulous Raptors tenure lined the hallway leading to Scotiabank Arena’s visitors’ locker room. No. 7 jerseys peppered the home crowd. And Tyrese Maxey told Lowry at the start of Monday’s matchup that his 76ers teammates would “do whatever we’ve got to do to get you in tonight.”

Maxey kept his word by spearheading the Sixers’ 115-102 victory, allowing Lowry to check in late and soak in (potentially) one last ovation from an adoring crowd that watched the North Philly native become a six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion.

“Probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career,” Lowry said after the game.

Lowry, who now is primarily a veteran mentor with his hometown team in his 20th NBA season, received that joyous curtain call because of the Sixers’ scorching offensive start to build a 33-point cushion. They dropped a season-high 80 first-half points on 73% shooting from the floor and 13 of 20 from three-point range. It was a resounding response to the previous night, when the Sixers collapsed in regulation before falling in overtime against this same opponent.

» READ MORE: Kyle Lowry returns to Toronto as a Raptors legend and Sixers leader: ‘I embrace it, and they embrace me’

So as the fourth quarter progressed, a faint “We want Lowry!” chant turned boisterous. Teammates encouraged the crowd — and the player — from the bench before, at coach Nick Nurse’s command, Lowry finally unzipped his blue hoodie.

Maxey swung his arms in support as Lowry took the floor. Nurse drew up a play to get Lowry a three-point look on his first possession, which he left well short. Teammates kept getting the ball into his hands for shooting opportunities, before his third and final long range-attempt rimmed out. Lowry held onto the ball as the final seconds ticked down in the Sixers’ win.

“A lot of neat [moments] up here,” said Nurse, who coached Lowry with the Raptors and Sixers. “And that was another one.”

The sentimental emotions were complemented by spicy ones, however. As Maxey poured in 18 first-quarter points, he visibly barked at the Raptors’ bench multiple times. Embiid said after the game that he was displeased with Toronto’s Alijah Martin pointing at Maxey as the Raptors finished off Sunday’s overtime thriller, and used that as an extra dash of motivation in his return from a one-game absence due to knee/groin injuries.

“They were talking a lot last night after they won,” Embiid said from his locker. “With just me sitting on the bench, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. So just wanted to make sure we came out aggressive and set the tone. …

“I don’t know about everybody else, but I didn’t like the way [Martin] was pointing at Tyrese last night. So that’s why, tonight, I had to make sure everybody was on point.”

Following this unique road back-to-back, the regular-season series between the Sixers and Raptors is over at 2-2. But if the playoffs began Tuesday, they would face each other in the matchup between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds.

Sign us up for at least four more of these games, eh?

Here are some more observations from the Sixers’ 2-1 road trip.

Early in Friday’s win at the Orlando Magic, Nurse heard referee Bill Kennedy scream and grab his leg along the baseline near the Sixers’ bench. Then Kennedy yelled again, and went to the floor.

Kennedy’s reported hamstring injury, which will keep him out indefinitely, captured the attention of the most dialed-in NBA followers. He is a rare example of an official fans actually like, because of his entertaining explanations of replay reviews and coach’s challenges.

Several Sixers players and staff members displayed visible concern for Kennedy when he hit the floor. Embiid and fellow center Andre Drummond were among those who helped Kennedy into a wheelchair to leave the court.

“I’ve had some of the most unfortunate injuries,” Embiid said after that game. “So every single time I see someone struggling or getting hurt, I know that kind of hits me a little bit. … Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. I’ll be praying for him.”

In Orlando, Embiid was asked about the new All-Star game format, and whether he would play for the U.S. or World team.

“Am I going to make it?” Embiid quipped. “I think I should. I don’t think we’re pushing it enough, but I’ve been playing a lot and I think I’ve got pretty good stats. You guys should start putting the word out that Joel Embiid is back.”

Such consideration would have seemed outlandish even a few weeks ago. But Embiid has played in six of the past seven games, including logging 40 minutes for the first time since the 2024 playoffs. He has progressed from a ho-hum late-game dunk in a Jan. 3 win at the New York Knicks, to a nasty one-handed flush in traffic Monday night in Toronto. He is contesting shots at the rim and taking center court for jump balls. He is averaging 23.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, and on Monday surpassed the number of games he played in during the entire 2024-25 season (20).

And Embiid meshed Friday’s playful trolling with expressing genuine emotion about looking — and feeling — more like himself in recent weeks.

“I know I usually say, ‘Got to keep building,’” Embiid said. “But this is a moment where I’m like, ‘Wow.’ A lot of people, I think, never thought this would happen again. So got to keep praying and put in the work to keep that going.”

But … back to a potential All-Star choice.

Though Embiid played for the U.S. in the 2024 Olympics, he reiterated that he is “always going to be from Cameroon.”

“I’m part of the whole world,” Embiid said with a grin. “I wasn’t planning on [being an All-Star], but I guess since you’re talking about it, maybe there’s a chance.”

As Maxey packed up his belongings at his locker in Toronto, he spotted a staffer with a bag of popcorn and asked for his own.

This is no surprise. A box of popcorn is often found in his permanent locker at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Whenever the Sixers visit Chicago, an attendant brings Maxey a trash bag filled with it.

It’s not just his go-to locker-room snack, but a go-to snack period. For a simple reason: It’s what his mother, Denyse, used to give him most often as a child.

“She said it had good fiber in it,” he said.

Nearly three hours before each game’s tipoff, Lowry is always the first Sixer to go through his pregame shooting routine. But Monday evening, Trendon Watford had joined him on the floor.

The versatile forward has not cracked the rotation since returning from a 17-game absence with an adductor strain. When asked about remaining steps to reintegrate and potentially earn more minutes, Nurse said Watford still has “a ways to go” with his conditioning.

» READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: Big Three’s impact, Kyle Lowry’s ovation, and more in a win over the Raptors

The coach also wants to exercise extra caution because, after Watford also missed training camp and the preseason with a hamstring issue, he does not want to risk another injury.

“I want to kind of take some baby steps with him,” Nurse said. “Because I want him to be in for a while. I don’t want to see three games, and then not see him for three weeks again.”

Watford is averaging 7.4 points, four rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 17 games, including a triple-double against the Raptors in November. He checked in at the stoppage in play with Lowry on Monday, recording one rebound in one minute, 27 seconds.

And when Lowry detoured from the locker room for a formal postgame news conference, Watford snuck into the back of the room to take in the scene.

* Eric Gordon pulled out his cell phone as soon as he returned to his locker following Friday’s win in Orlando. The former Indiana star and Indianapolis native needed to catch the end of the Hoosiers football team’s blowout win over Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals to continue that program’s magical ascension.

*Quentin Grimes donned appropriate game day attire in Toronto, wearing half brother Tyler Myers’ Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres hockey jerseys to the arena. Myers, a defenseman, also played for the Winnipeg Jets.

*While reminiscing Sunday about Lowry’s tenacious playing style, Nurse mentioned that the three most relentless players he has ever coached were part of the current Sixers’ locker room. The other two are player development coaches Fabulous Flournoy, whom Nurse coached in with the Birmingham Bullets of the British Basketball League, and Curtis Stinson, whom Nurse coached with the then-D League’s Iowa Energy.

Embiid on Lowry’s legacy in Toronto: “When you play this game, that’s the respect you want at the end of your career. I loved it. I know Philly’s tough, but hopefully one day I’m in that position, too.”

Maxey on Lowry’s legacy in Toronto: “Any time I ask him to set up reservations for me [in this city], he gets me in wherever I need to get in like that.”