Embiid is bad, Siakam does the phenomenon: Toronto brings the series back to Philadelphia

Toronto does not give up. Instead of the holidays, the Raptors are heading to Philadelphia, where Game-5 is scheduled for Monday. A defeat would have ended Coach Nurse’s team season, giving the Sixers at least a week of precious rest, considering Joel Embiid’s condition. Instead Toronto, dragged along by Pascal Siakam’s show (highest career in the Playoffs with 34 points), earned it fighting the 110-102 which extends the series, which now Philadelphia leads 3-1. No one in NBA history has ever recovered from 3-0 in the playoffs, but Toronto (who sacrificed Fred VanVleet on the altar in Game-4, stopped in the first half by a pain in his left hip) put the first brick. With the collaboration of Philadelphia, which with Embiid no more than 50% for the right thumb injury of which no one wants to know the real extent, she has never managed to find a way to be herself.

embiid

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Difficult to be if Embiid, the sun around which the Philadelphia system revolves, is not at 100%. Joel has a ligament injury in his right thumb that worries the Sixers for the rest of the playoffs. The center gritted his teeth, played 39 minutes, but only in the third period (8 of his 21 points) did he really manage to be a factor. Starting with 5 out of 5 shooting errors in the first 18 ‘, Embiid has always tried to avoid using his injured right hand, and with each shot immediately the grimace of pain was evident. However, his presence on the pitch remains a problem for the Raptors defense, good at protecting the iron and preventing the best scorer of the 2021-22 regular season from finding the offensive pace. Embiid couldn’t even help on defense, using just one hand to try and do all that work close to his own basket which helps make him elite.

the keys

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With Embiid in half service, Philadelphia never blossomed. Also because the defense of Toronto, even when VanVleet came out, found a way to keep Tyrese Maxey at bay, practically nil. Without shining, the best of the Sixers was James Harden, 22 points and 11 assists with 5/17 shooting. Tobias Harris also did well, 15 points and 11 rebounds and the impossible task of keeping Siakam at bay. The Cameroonian from Toronto exploded in the fourth quarter with 15 of his 34 points, putting in both the testosterone that the Raptors lost with the release of Embiid (and which in Canada they occasionally accuse him of not putting) and the forays they have made. the certainties of Philadelphia are shattered. Around him Toronto showed his team strength (including the unusual contribution of 36 points from the bench, excellently trained by Nick Nurse, a coach who has a unique ability to bring out every drop of talent from his team. long live a series that seemed closed: the conditions of Embiid are a problem for the Sixers, because the center in half service, with the hand that hurts every time he touches the ball, is not able to make a difference as he managed to a whole mvp season. Coach Rivers must find a way to have his star on the pitch but to transform him from first option into a viable alternative. siren: “Raps in 7”.

the match

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Toronto breaks the balance in the first quarter with a 20-6 run in the second fueled by Trent, who signs the Raptors 50-38 4’12 “from the break. The recovery begins with the hosts ahead 54-49: Toronto always remains ahead, but with Embiid who seems more at ease on the pitch, Philadelphia holds, even if he never completes the engagement. Toronto is ahead 80-77 when the final period begins: Siakam’s show is what makes the difference, while Embiid flounders in his pain, dragging the Sixers with him. On Monday in race-5 the conditions of his right thumb will still be decisive.

Toronto: Siakam 34 (9/15 twos, 1/4 threes, 13/15 free throws), Trent 24, Young 13. Rebounds: Barnes 11. Assists: Siakam 5, Young 5
Philadelphia: Harden 22 (3/9, 2/8, 10/11 tl), Embiid 21, Harris 15. Rebounds: Harris 11. Assist: Harden 9.