Raptors beat Sixers, 110-102, to force a Game 5 and fend off sweep in first-round playoff series | Analysis

TORONTO — Joel Embiid bent over at the free-throw line, palms on his knees as he prepared to take a pair of ultimately meaningless free throws. The 76ers’ MVP finalist then shook his right hand as the first shot dropped through the net, a sign of the clear pain he will need to fight through in at least one more game against these Toronto Raptors.

Embiid did not look like his dominant self for large swaths of Game 4 of their first-round series. Neither did his teammates, who in collecting three victories over the past week had helped put the Sixers on the verge of sweeping their foes from The North. Inside Scotiabank Arena Saturday afternoon, the Raptors built another first-half lead and, unlike Wednesday’s overtime thriller, never allowed the Sixers to complete a comeback. The result: a 110-102 Raptors victory to keep their season alive and force a Game 5 Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“I just didn’t think we deserved to win,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “I really didn’t. Our guys have been great, but we weren’t good [this afternoon]. That little mental part of the game where you have to come and play, I didn’t think we had that.

“I just thought [the Raptors] played harder, tougher, faster, more physical, and good things come to the energy. We were so sloppy execution-wise. ... We just made so many mistakes. You can’t win an NBA regular-season game with the mistakes we made, let alone a playoff game.”

Sixers veteran Danny Green, who has won three championships in his career, cautioned following Friday’s practice that close-out games are the most difficult to capture. That rang true during Saturday’s slog. The Sixers could not overcome slipping into a 12-point first-half hole, or 34 points from Raptors star Pascal Siakam, or allowing 22 Toronto points off turnovers and 21 in transition.

Toronto pulled away in the final minutes to collect its first victory of the series. When the Sixers got within 82-81 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Toronto responded with six consecutive points, including a Precious Achiuwa finish down low. That advantage grew to 101-87 with less than four minutes to play, when Siakam hit two free throws as part of a 19-6 run.

Embiid, who three nights prior left this normally raucous home crowd in stunned silence with his overtime game-winning three-pointer, finished with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists but also turned the ball over five times. James Harden added 22 points but made just five of 17 shots and added nine assists and five rebounds. Tobias Harris totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Raptors, meanwhile, also got 24 points from Gary Trent Jr. and 36 bench points.

Embiid was clearly laboring through the thumb injury that will receive an MRI when the Sixers return to Philly. His offensive rhythm came in fits and starts throughout, and hit a crucial drought in the final period. He did not score in the fourth quarter until hitting two free throws with about four minutes remaining, after the Raptors had already rebuilt an 11-point lead. Embiid also committed three of his five turnovers during the fourth.

Embiid said he felt the injury most while rebounding, passing and at the free-throw line. The Raptors’ constant flow of double-teams also had an impact.

He went 0-of-5 from the floor in the first quarter and did not connect on a field goal until a jumper about midway through the second frame. And even when he got rolling just before halftime — when he hit a hook shot in the lane and converted an and-1 through contact — he ended up grabbing his hand in pain multiple times after missing at the basket twice in the final minute.

In the third quarter, Embiid recorded a dunk, a tough off-the-dribble jumper and a fadeaway in the final four minutes to get the Sixers within 78-74.

Every time Embiid touched the ball, the home crowd unleashed boos or a chant featuring his name and an expletive.

Saturday’s first half unfolded much like Wednesday’s Game 3, with clunky offense and a lack of rebounding, helping the Raptors amass a 12-point lead when Trent drilled three-pointer with about four minutes to play before the break.

Toronto outrebounded the Sixers 25,-17, before intermission, including 8-3 on the offensive glass to yield 12 second-chance points (the Sixers had zero).

The Sixers, meanwhile, shot under 40% for the bulk of the first half, including Embiid, Harden and Maxey going a combined 7-of-23. Harris’ nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and seven rebounds, along with a 7-of-16 mark from three-point distance, kept the Sixers within striking distance.

“We missed a lot of wide-open shots,” Embiid said. “I had a bunch of turnovers. The ball didn’t move as well as it’s been moving. We know what we got to do, honestly: take care of the ball, no offensive rebounds and just play together.

“I thought [today] the ball was sticking a little bit more than usual, so we’ve just got to get back to doing what worked for those three games that we won.”

After receiving his rookie of the year award during a pregame ceremony, the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes finished with six points on 1-of-6 shooting, 11 rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes in his return to action after suffering a sprained ankle in Game 1 last Saturday.

He received a standing ovation upon checking in for the first time about midway through the first quarter. He put a brief scare in the crowd when he fell down and grabbed that ankle in the opening seconds of the second quarter. But he came back into the game after testing the injury by bouncing up and down during a timeout.

Raptors All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet, however, was not so lucky. He left the game in the second quarter with a hip strain and did not return. He ripped his jersey in half in frustration before heading to the locker room. He had five points on 2-of-6 shooting, three assists and two rebounds in 14 minutes.

» READ MORE: Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet rips his jersey in frustration after suspected hip injury