Sixers fall to 0-8 with loss to Raptors

The contrast was as stark as it was stunning.

As the 76ers suffered their eighth straight loss to open the season Wednesday night, a 119-103 decision to Toronto, they fielded a starting lineup in which the best two players were rookies - one of them being an undrafted free agent in T.J. McConnell. Meanwhile, the Raptors rolled out a veteran lineup led by former NBA all-stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

But the Raptors (6-3) were far from being in the mood to nurture or even feel sorry for the Sixers, who were minus Nerlens Noel (sore wrists) for the second straight game. Toronto was a team desperate to snap a three-game skid and played like it from the start at the Wells Fargo Center.

"That is a deep playoff team with veterans," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "We just tried to put out fires all over the place going big, going small. . . . And all over the place you are just trying to find combinations to stay competitive, be competitive, find ways to score."

It didn't take long to realize the Sixers would extend their losing streak to 18 games dating to March 27, 2015. It is the fourth-longest skid in franchise history and surpasses the 17 straight defeats from Oct. 29, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2014.

The Sixers tied an NBA record with 26 straight losses from Jan. 31, 2014, to March 27, 2014. They lost 20 consecutive games from Jan. 9, 1973, to Feb. 11, 1973. The Sixers dropped 19 straight from March 21, 1972, to Nov. 10, 1972.

On Wednesday, the Sixers got bludgeoned on the boards (56-37), fell behind by 20 in third quarter and got no closer than 14 afterward while playing without their best rebounding and post presence in Noel. He is expected to return in time for Friday's game in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. While he'll provide a lift and make things more competitive, the Sixers are expected to have the same outcome.

Rookie center Jahlil Okafor (game-high 26 points, seven rebounds) was a bright spot on a team that had few answers when the Raptors took the game seriously. McConnell finished with two points and a career-high 13 assists.

Meanwhile, 35-year-old Luis Scola schooled the much younger Sixers post players. The Raptors power forward scored 21 points. He dominated by making jumpers, layups, putbacks and even a three-pointer. Scola shot 10 for 15 and had five rebounds.

Lowry, a former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova standout, finished with 23 points, eight assists and two steals in just 29 minutes.

The Sixers, who had averaged a league-worst 33.9 made field goals, missed their first six shots to open the third quarter. Their first basket and points of the quarter came on Jerami Grant's dunk with 7 minutes, 31 seconds to go. But the Raptors had built a 17-point cushion before his basket.

That cushion was the result of a 14-0 Raptors run that began with Lowry's buzzer-beating three-pointer at the half. Toronto went on to build a 20-point cushion before resting all of its starters besides James Johnson.

"We have not started third quarters well," Brown said. "I think some of it is teams are good and they start focusing a little bit harder when we are competitive in the first half. That's the sport, isn't it? We do not start third periods well."

The Raptors extended their winning streak in the series against the Sixers to nine games.

"Today we had nine players," Okafor said. "That's always tough and we played a good veteran team. It was tough from the jump. But that's really no excuse. Especially the way we came out in the third quarter. We know that's the real problem. We are able to compete with these teams. But we are not sustaining that through four quarters."

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

www.philly.com/deepsixer