PHILADELPHIA – The Toronto Raptors faced elimination for the second time in three days – and the winners came out again.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Raptors beat the 76ers 103-88 on Monday to reduce Philadelphia’s lead in the best of seven of their first-round playoff games to 3-2.
Precious Achiuwa had 17 points, while OG Anunoby finished with 16 for the Raptors, who lacked the injured star guard Fred VanVleit. Scotty Barnes, in his second game back, after sitting two with a sprained ankle, scored 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Raptors face elimination again in Game 6 in Toronto on Thursday.
Joel Embiid, who played with a torn ligament in his right thumb, had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Sixers.
Two nights after their 110-102 victory in Toronto to impose a game of 5, the Raptors started strong, vying for a nine-point lead in the first quarter and extending it to 14 in the second. They led in double digits for most of the third and took a 75-66 lead in the fourth.
Boos rained down the crowd when Barnes threw a cheeky pass to Achiuwa for a 13-point lead with 6:11 per game. James Harden’s three-pointer reduced the gap to nine points with 6:11 per game, but after a few minutes without a score from either team, Anunnobi made a three-pointer for 13 breathing points with 3:52 per game.
When Anunnobi reached the 2:14 hoop for the game, thousands of Philly fans headed for the exits as if there was an evacuation order. Raptors coach Nick Nurse emptied his bench with 1:19 to play.
Two nights earlier in Toronto, Siakam scored a high 34 points in his playoff career and the Raptors backed off to beat Philly and prevent elimination.
No team in NBA history has returned to win a seven-game streak after falling behind 3-0. The nurse called it a “hacking challenge” and said “someone has to do it”. Thirteen teams returned after a 3-1 deficit, and Sixers coach Doc Rivers was at the losing end of two of them. It would be almost appropriate for the Raptors, who have suffered many upheavals over the past two seasons, including having to play outside of Tampa, Florida, last season due to restrictions on the COVID-19 border.
VanVleet confirmed in a shooting Monday morning that they will not play due to a tense left hip flexor suffered in the first half of Game 4. VanVleet, who has been battling knee injuries all season, said his body was “blunt”. He wasn’t sure if he would be cured enough to play Game 6.
The Raptors got off to a good start, annoying the Sixers at 10 in the first quarter. Gary Trent Jr. had nine points in the frame to take the lead, and his rebound brought the Raptors forward with nine less than five minutes after the start of the game. The Sixers pulled to a 10-2 point, which included the unfortunate inclusion of Achiuwa in Philly’s net as he and Barnes climbed to grab a rebound. The Raptors led 29-27 to start second.
Toronto opened the second with a 12-0 series that included a dribble behind Barnes, the new rookie of the year in the NBA Raptors, in a quick break. Siakam’s finger roll brought Toronto 14 points. The closest to the Sixers in the quarter was six points, and the Raptors went into the half with 54-41. The dissatisfied crowd of Sixers with 20 517 fans booed the team.
The Sixers won games 1 and 2 with 35 points combined, after which Embiid hit a three-pointer less than a second after overtime in Game 3.
Game 7 will return to Philadelphia on Saturday if necessary.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 25, 2022.
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