The Philadelphia 76ers looked like NBA championship contenders on Thursday.

Philadelphia cruised to a dominant 116-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 3 of their second-round series. The win put the 76ers ahead 2-1 in the series.

Toronto failed time and again to slow down Philadelphia’s star-powered offense. The 76ers shot 51.2 per cent from the field and knocked down 10 of their 23 three-point attempts.

Here are three takeaways from the 76ers' win.

Joel Embiid bounces back

That was a different Embiid.

The 76ers star made little impact and scored less than 17 points in each of the first two games of the series. But, he was a major factor on Thursday.

Embiid was once again the focal point of Philadelphia's offense. He received the ball in positions to score and attacked the basket, which is an encouraging sign for the 76ers moving forward.

Embiid, a 30 per cent three-point shooter during the regular season, also connected on three of his four long-range attempts.

In total, Embiid recorded 33 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. He also blocked five shots on the defensive end.

 

76ers bench hold their own again

The 76ers bench was viewed as a major weakness entering the series. But, that has not been the case.

Philadelphia's second unit held their own for a second straight matchup. Mike Scott – who missed the first two games with a foot issue – Greg Monroe and James Ennis combined for 19 points on eight of 13 shooting.

The Raptors, on the other, did not receive much from their bench players. Fred VanVleet was 0 of seven from the field in his 21 minutes while Norman Powell was two-of-five shooting and finished minus-12.

Ennis and Monroe tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively, in Game 2.

 

Danny Green may be back

The Raptors can take one positive away from their loss.

Danny Green struggled in the first two games of the series as he knocked down just three of his 13 field-goal attempts and missed eight of his 10 three-pointers. Green, however, remained positive.

"Sometimes they're just off the mark," Green said earlier this week, via TSN. "A couple of them felt really good ... But some games it goes that way. Next game you put it behind you and you think the next one's going in."

Green's confidence was rewarded in Game 3. He hit three of his six three-point attempts and registered 13 points.

Green shot a career-high 45.5 per cent from behind the arc during the regular season and the Raptors will need him to continue to be an outside threat for the rest of the series.