Toronto Raptors edge Sixers, 119-114, in potential first-round playoff preview | Analysis

TORONTO — The rebound off his own miss inside gave Pascal Siakam a triple-double. And his finish through contact, which put the Raptors up 7 points with 32.1 seconds remaining, sealed a critical late-season victory over a 76ers team they may see again starting next week in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Siakam’s 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists lifted the Raptors to a 119-114 victory Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.

“They made shots, and we didn’t do a really good job at contesting as [consistently] as we needed to,” said All-Star guard James Harden, who finished with 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting and 15 assists. “Siakam got going, and it’s pretty difficult. ... We didn’t get enough stops.”

It was an entertaining game between two teams who are now even more likely to meet in the postseason. Neither was at full strength, however. Raptors All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet and starting wing OG Anunoby did not play, while Sixers defensive ace Matisse Thybulle was ineligible to enter Canada because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19. Though coach Doc Rivers said he “just didn’t think we guarded well enough” in Thursday’s loss, he did not blame the defeat on Thybulle’s absence.

“Matisse had nothing to do with this game,” Rivers said. “We would have lost the game with Matisse.”

The loss kept the Sixers (49-31) in fourth place in the tight Eastern Conference playoff standings. They are now a half-game behind the third-place Boston Celtics (50-31), who lost Thursday night to the Milwaukee Bucks (50-30), who moved into second place.

After a back-and-forth second half, the Raptors took the lead for good in the final minutes.

Raptors Rookie of the Year contender Scottie Barnes’ cutting layup gave Toronto a 97-89 lead with less than 9 minutes remaining, before Gary Trent followed with a floater to put his team up 10 points. Tyrese Maxey then led a Sixers charge with an old-fashioned three-point play, two free throws and a pull-up jumper to get within 102-99 about midway through the period, before Siakam answered with a finish inside and Trent followed with a bucket inside.

» READ MORE: Matisse Thybulle’s absence — and unvaccinated status — came as no surprise to the Sixers | Keith Pompey

Then, after Danny Green buried his sixth three-pointer to cut the Raptors’ lead to 111-107 with about two minutes to play, Siakam answered with a finger roll to force a Sixers timeout.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Maxey scored 9 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s Trent also finished with 30 points, including a 5-of-8 mark from three-point range, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Two nights after setting the franchise record for three-pointers in a game at Indiana (23), the Sixers went 19-of-36 from long range in Toronto. Five Sixers hit multiple shots from deep: Maxey went 4-of-5, while Green went 6-of-7 (including a four-point play in the third quarter), Shake Milton went 3-of-4, Georges Niang went 3-of-7 and Tobias Harris went 2-of-5.

Those makes helped create an early 17-2 Sixers lead, which Rivers called “beautiful basketball.” After that, though, Rivers was disappointed with how the Sixers lost their rhythm because of 17 turnovers for 25 points and a lack of defensive stops.

“That’s happened about three times now,” Rivers said. “We’ve got to keep our pace going, and that’s not running. That’s moving the ball, getting the ball up the floor, going side to side. We got away from that.”

As a result, the Raptors were also dangerous from three-point range, going 15-of-33 to fuel their first-half comeback. Trent’s deep ball gave Toronto a 35-34 lead with less than 10 minutes to play in the second quarter as part of a 21-6 run.

Without Thybulle, the Sixers were forced to switch up their rotation. It provided a glimpse of what the sub patterns could look if the Sixers face the Raptors in the first round and Thybulle is unable to play in road games.

“We’ve just got to figure out adjustments,” Green said. “And hopefully, if we come back, we’ll not be in the situation that we’re in right now.”

Green, who finally received his 2019 Raptors championship ring Thursday, was a productive starter with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. Niang and Milton were still the first players off the bench, while Furkan Korkmaz got two early minutes as Green’s sub. Paul Reed was also the backup center instead of DeAndre Jordan, a move Rivers hinted earlier this week could be coming against the rangy Raptors.

The Sixers started the second quarter with Harden, Maxey, Green, Harris, and Reed. They closed the half with Harden, Green, Harris, Niang, and Embiid.

The Sixers conclude the regular season with a home back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons on Saturday and Sunday. The Celtics, meanwhile, end their season Sunday at the Memphis Grizzlies, while the Bucks play Friday at Detroit and Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors, who are now two games ahead of the sixth-place Chicago Bulls (45-35), finish with a home game against the Houston Rockets Friday before playing at the New York Knicks Sunday.