If the loss of 20 points in Philadelphia was not painful enough, the Raptors lost esteemed rookie Scotty Barnes due to an ankle injury and saw star defender Fred VanVleit go out of the game by almost a quarter before the game.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse had scheduled a gig fest against Philly and the Sixers pledged on Saturday.
“I am not surprised [the 76ers] they were highly motivated and ready to go, “said the nurse. “I think there are a lot of expectations for them. I think they would try to harass us right off the floor and hit us to see if we would leave. Now we will know whether we will do it or not. “
Tyrese Maxey scored 21 of the highest points in his playoff career 38 points in the third quarter on Saturday to live up to all the Raptors’ hopes of a comeback, while the 76ers beat Toronto 131-111 in Game 1 of the playoff series in the first round.
Pascal Siakam had 24 points, while OG Anunoby came in with 20 points on a tough night for the Raptors.
Barnes had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in an excellent playoff debut before the 280-pound Sixers center Joel Embiid stepped on the rookie’s feet, sending him to the floor in 9:06 agony to play. VanVleet had 18 points and six assists before leaving the game.
“For a young rookie in his first playoff game on the road against a really good team, I thought he seemed to belong,” said Sister Barnes, whose X-rays were negative. He will undergo more images on Sunday.
WATCH Barnes sprained his ankle in the playoff debut.
Raptors rookie Scotty Barnes sprained ankle in Game 1 of the Sixers loss
Raptors rookie Scotty Barnes left the game after spraining his ankle in a 131-111 loss to Toronto in the first game of their NBA playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. 1:50
Embid recorded 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The second game of the series of the best of the seven is on Monday in Philadelphia and the Raptors, who are 5-17 in the opening of the playoff series, are in a familiar hole.
“We could have lost 50 tonight and it’s a game,” Siakam said. “Obviously we know we have to play better than tonight to have a chance to win against them. So we have to go back, watch the movie, get better at it … but that’s the nature of playoffs, ups and downs, and we have to be able to maintain the same focus and intensity when things aren’t going our way.
“We may have the most incredible game plan, but if you don’t have the intensity to deal with it, it will be difficult to beat such a team.”
WATCH Maxey shows up as the 76ers take the lead in the series over the Raptors:
76ers Tyrese Maxey ignites the Raptors in victory in match 1
Tyris Maxi scored a record 38 points when the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 131-111 in the first game of the NBA playoffs. 1:42
In the first post-season meeting between the Atlantic Division rivals after Kawhi Leonard’s twilight in the semifinals of the conference in 2019 and only a week after the Raptors returned from a 17-2 deficit to beat Philly in Toronto, there was no delay – game heroism on Saturday .
The Sixers’ 21-point lead in the second quarter was 24 at the start of the third. Precious Achiuva passed Embiid and scored a foul. His three-point game at 5:56 from the third end of the 10-2 series, which reduced the gap to 11 points and breathed some life into the Raptors.
But James Harden, who had 22 points and 14 assists in his first playoff game as Sixer, buried a three-pointer, made a layup and then scored a two-handed bounce to sprinting Maxi for a high-flying flight that put Toronto back up to 18.
The Sixers led 107-88 with a quarter left.
“We just weren’t ourselves in many areas.”
“We just weren’t ourselves in a lot of areas, whether it was just destructive,” VanVleet said. “Much of what we do is based on our aggression and length, as well as playing with the ball, causing turns that block shots. And whether it was a shudder from some of the newer boys or not [referee’s] whistle or whatever, were just a little slow. . . they won the battle for physical condition. “
The Raptors broke up in Shake Milton’s fourth and threesome with 7:34 to play, bringing Philly to 23 in front of a well-crowded Wells Fargo Arena crowd that included rapper Mick Mill and retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., Maxi Jumper 3:19 to play, Sixers increased by 22 and coach Nurse and Philly Doc Rivers emptied their benches soon after.
The Raptors’ identity is to turn teams around and win the rebound offensive battle, but the Sixers defeated the Raptors in their own game. Philly grabbed 10 offensive boards against Toronto’s seven and made just four turns against eight for the Raptors.
“I guess that’s probably number one on their list of highlights,” said Sister. “We had a lot of success in the cup with them on both sides, and the bounce is very much about simple desire, speed, speed and physical strength. And they only had one step ahead of us tonight.
The Raptors won their regular season series 3-1 against Philly and, like the 76ers, finished the season successfully, winning 14 of 18 onwards.
But the Sixers dominated from the start on Saturday, grabbing six offensive boards in the first quarter against Toronto’s two. They built a 10-point lead and took a 35-27 lead to start the second.
Anunoby’s running run limited the Raptors’ 5-0 run to open the second quarter. This reduced the gap to just three points, but the momentum was short-lived as the Sixers responded 9-0 and when Harris knocked down a three-pointer at 1:12 by the end of the half, Philly was ahead by 21 points. 76ers led 69-51 at halftime.
The series heads to Toronto for Games 3 on Wednesday and 4 next Saturday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which ended the 2020 season in a “bubble” of Disney World and the 2021 season, which saw the Raptors collapse in the rankings against the backdrop of the explosion of COVID-19 to finish 12th in 2021 ., this will be the first time Scotiabank Arena has hosted playoff basketball since Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
In Toronto on Saturday, fans gathered at Jurassic Park in front of the Scotiabank Arena to watch the game on the giant screen. Fans hadn’t gathered there to watch 1045-day playoffs since the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors to win the 2019 NBA Championship.
The series will return to Philly for Game 5 if necessary.
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