Nick Nurse's Philadelphia 76ers defeated his former employer Toronto Raptors 111-121 to win their 20th game of the season.
The consistent offensive excellence of Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey was key to Philadelphia's resurgence after a difficult first quarter.
Player of the game Harris amounted a season high 33 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
After a relatively underwhelming first half, Joel Embiid improved hugely in the second 24 and concluded the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
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Story of the game
Despite not exactly being known for their fast starts, Toronto took the game to Philly and amassed a nine point lead in the early proceedings.
The Raptors looked switched on in the first quarter and their efforts on the defensive end certainly would have pleased head coach Darko Rajaković.
It took Embiid 11 minutes to get in on the scoring as the reigning MVP was forced into four early turnovers and very nearly went scoreless in the quarter.
Pascal Siakam made history with his 14 first quarter points as he joined Kyle Lowry as the only players to rank top five in points, rebounds and assists in Raptors franchise history.
The Raptors held a healthy nine point lead and would have been encouraged by their performance in the first 12.
Two minutes into the second, Harris drained a deep step back three to take him to 18 points as well as bringing the Sixers within two points of their Canadian counterparts.
Ten minutes later Harris nailed another three to tie the game up at 54-54 as the forward enjoyed a successful first half on the offensive end.
As half time approached, Harris finished through contact and was fouled, making the free throw to give Philadelphia their first lead of the game.
Embiid finished off the glass to give the Sixers a 58-61 lead heading into the interval as they massively improved in the second quarter.
The Sixers found their rhythm and finally took control of the game early in the third, taking an eight point lead in the opening few minutes.
With Philly in the drivers seat, Toronto did not look any where near as comfortable on the defensive end, as Maxey and Harris seemed to be having continuous success offensively with Embiid also hitting stride.
With three minutes left in the penultimate quarter, Embiid pulled up from range and made a three pointer to extend his side's lead to 13.
The Raptors stayed competitive and closed the quarter on a 9-1 run, constantly driving to the basket and showing their determination to keep the Sixers within arms length as the score read 89-93 heading into the fourth.
Maxey's back to back threes gave Philly a 15 point lead, the largest of the night as the point guard's confidence looks limitless as he amounted 33 points and 10 assists in the game.
The 76ers were in complete control in the fourth quarter, and led by 14 with just over two minutes on the clock as they sought their 20th win of the season.
Nurse's Sixers displayed the fight and resilience to overcome a very solid Raptors side to claim another big win in their bid to push to the peak of the East.