The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed back Joel Embiid for a first-half cameo, then blew a late seven-point lead and watched as Toronto's Stanley Johnson hit a tie-breaking follow shot with 5.9 seconds remaining for a 125-121 victory in the NBA bubble Wednesday night
Embiid, who injured his left ankle Sunday against Portland and sat out Tuesday's front end of a back-to-back against Phoenix, played 14 minutes in the first half, during which he had five points and nine rebounds.
He sat out the final 24 minutes.
The 76ers held the upper hand for most of the time when Embiid was on the floor. They built a 16-point lead within 11 minutes, then led by as many as 14 in the second quarter before settling for a 62-55 halftime advantage.
The Raptors got 3-pointers from Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam, and a two-pointer from Powell in an eight-point run to start the third quarter, putting them up 63-62.
The clubs then battled on even terms until the 76ers, down 95-94, got three free throws and a 3-point hoop in a personal six-point run by Furkan Korkmaz to go up 100-95 with 9:48 remaining.
Korkmaz completed another free throw hat trick when fouled on a 3-pointer with 7:47 left, helping the 76ers retain a lead that was 115-108 with just 2:59 to go.
But Dewan Hernandez led a late Raptors flurry with two- and 3-point hoops and a free throw, and when Norman Pelle blocked his layup with 8.5 seconds left, Johnson was there for the put-back and a 123-121 lead.
Paul Watson's two free throws with 1.0 second left iced Toronto's third straight win and sixth in seven outings since the restart.
Chris Boucher and Kyle Lowry shared team-high scoring honors for the Raptors with 19 points apiece, with a majority of Boucher's scoring coming on a career-high four 3-pointers.
Boucher also had nine rebounds, tying Siakam and Embiid for game-high honors.
Powell added 17 points, Siakam 15, Marc Gasol 11 and Fred VanVleet 10 for Toronto, which has clinched second place in the Eastern Conference.
Tobias Harris had a game-high 22 points and Korkmaz 21 for Philadelphia, which is locked into sixth place in the East and a first-round playoff matchup with Boston.
Raul Neto chipped in with 17 points, Mike Scott 12, and Josh Richardson and Matisse Thybulle 10 apiece for the 76ers, who fell to 3-4 in the bubble with a third straight defeat.
--Field Level Media
