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TORONTO (AP) Luis Scola's hot start gave the Toronto Raptors just the shot in the arm they needed to pick up their fourth straight win.
The Argentinian had 14 of his season high-matching 22 points in the first quarter to help Toronto overcome a slow start and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 96-76 Sunday night.
Scola was 6-of-8 shooting, including a pair of 3s, and five rebounds in the first quarter while Toronto (16-9) overcame an eight-point deficit by going on a 24-8 run to end the opening quarter.
"Starting games well is something that has helped me a lot during my career," Scola said. "It's something I've done well a lot of times.
"The team might benefit from it since I'm starting here and there's a chance for me to do that."
With the win, Toronto closed its homestand at 4-2. Philadelphia has lost six straight and fell to 1-24.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 25 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Lowry added 16 points and five rebounds while Bismack Biyombo had a team-high rebounds with his six points.
"He can score in bunches quick and tonight he did," DeRozan said of Scola. "It's not his first time doing it and we try to milk him as much as possible when he gets it going like that."
DeRozan came into the night averaging 21.7 points per game, and this was his third straight outing with at least 20 points.
Jahlil Okafor led Philadelphia with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Robert Covington added 15 points and nine rebounds.
The 76ers also lost Nerlens Noel to injury. The center was being evaluated at a Toronto hospital for a "corneal abrasion" before determining if he could fly with the team to Chicago.
After taking a lead in the first quarter, Toronto never trailed. The Raptors led by 20 points late in the third quarter but the 76ers battled back.
Okafor's bucket with 7:16 to go in the fourth cut the Raptors' lead to 77-71.
But the Raptors scored five straight points to widen their advantage to 11 and were never threatened again.
"It started with our defense," Okafor said of the run that got Philadelphia back into the game. "We still played good defense, but we had trouble scoring near the end of the game."
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said his team's 22 turnovers were "far too many."
Those mistakes led to 28 Toronto points. The Raptors' 10 turnovers led to nine 76ers points.
