Sixers takeaways: Inability to close out games and stop dribble drives are glaring in loss to Raptors

The 76ers still have a problem closing out games.

Their guards also need to do a better job of preventing straight-line drives.

But on the positive side, Kelly Oubre Jr. is back to contributing on both ends of the floor.

Those things stood out in Sunday’s 116-115 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.

The Sixers (21-16) were trending in the right direction after winning two straight and five of their last six games heading into this matchup. And with Tyrese Maxey scoring a game-high 38 points, they appeared capable of overcoming the huge absences of Joel Embiid (left knee injury management/left groin soreness) and Paul George (left knee soreness).

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But an inability to close out the game reared its ugly head.

Maxey hit a what appeared to be a 29-foot dagger three-pointer to give the Sixers a 107-103 cushion with 20.1 seconds left.

However, they failed to inbound the ball. The Raptors (24-16) won two challenges and made two baskets to force overtime.

The Sixers built a 112-108 lead with 2 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in overtime. But the Raptors responded with a 7-0 run to take a 115-112 lead after the Sixers missed two shots and committed a costly turnover.

VJ Edgecombe made a 30-foot three-pointer to knot the score at 115. However, Scottie Barnes got away with initiating contact with Oubre, who was called for a foul, on a drive with 0.8 seconds left.

Barnes, who finished with 31 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, made the first foul shot and intentionally missed the second to win the game.

The Sixers committed 22 turnovers and made just 8 of 31 three-pointers. But they were ultimately doomed by poor late-game execution. Something they need to correct.

“We just got to be better, be more disciplined and stay together in those moments where we’re facing a little bit of adversity, because we both made runs,” Oubre said to reporters. “But you know, theirs was the final shot.”

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Barnes will get the credit for winning Sunday’s game. However, the Raptors backcourt of Immanuel Quickley and Jamal Shead had their way with the Sixers guards. Quickley finished with 20 points and seven assists, while Shead had 22 and six assists.

The duo had several downhill drives in the lane. If they couldn’t score, they kicked the ball out to teammates. Late in the game, Shead and Quickley drove the lane. Once the Sixers provided help defense, the guard would dump the ball off to a big man for a dunk.

“We just got out of position on some of that,” coach Nick Nurse said to reporters. “I felt we went to help a little too early, and obviously left too big a passing lane for those dumboffs late.”

But it started with the Sixers guards needing to do a better job of keeping opposing perimeter players in front of them.

Before missing 22 games with a sprained left knee ligament, Oubre was the quiet assassin for the Sixers. The 6-foot-8 small forward averaged 16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in his first 12 games. In addition to excelling when the ball was moving, Oubre did a solid job of guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

He returned on Wednesday and provided solid defense that night against the Washington Wizards and again on Friday vs. the Orlando Magic. However, he averaged one point on a combined 1-for-9 shooting in those two games.

He had the complete package against the Raptors.

Oubre finished with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with five rebounds and season highs of four steals and three blocks in his third game back. Nine of his points came in the third quarter.

“He hasn’t really scored much since being back, so that’s obviously nice to see,” Nurse said. “He even hit a three, but had some really nice drives. He had a couple of good blocks and steals as well, which is why we ended up playing him as much as we did down the stretch.”

He’ll go back to being an X-factor if he can keep this up.

“It definitely felt good,” Oubre said. “It’s just, I think I could be better. I got blocked because I’m not trusting myself and the work that I put in.

“So you know, just watching film, continue to just show up every day and get better. That’s all I can do. But it definitely felt good to get some run.”