Pascal Siakam Scores Playoff Career-High 34 Points as Raptors Avoid Sweep, Send Series Back to Philadelphia For Game Five
Put away the brooms, 76ers fans, and buckle your seatbelts for the James Harden playoff experience. Toronto beat Philadelphia 110-102 to avoid a sweep. Neither team shot well, but Toronto outrebounded Philadelphia 46-41 while also committing four fewer turnovers, and making seven more free throws; winning the possession game proved to be the decisive factor for Toronto. Pascal Siakam led the way with a playoff career-high 34 points on 10-19 field goal shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing for five assists. Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points despite shooting just 8-20 from the field. Thaddeus Young provided a lift off of the bench with 13 points on 6-9 field goal shooting. Scottie Barnes, who received the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year award before tipoff, was clearly hindered by the ankle injury that he suffered in game one (and that forced him to miss games two and three), but his game-high 11 rebounds helped Toronto to win the possession game. Barnes scored six points on 1-6 field goal shooting.
With Joel Embiid limited by a torn ligament in his right thumb and Tyrese Maxey's numbers regressing to the mean (11 points, 4-12 field goal shooting), James Harden was Philadelphia's leading scorer for the first time in this series. It is not a coincidence that this was also Philadelphia's first loss in this series, because the 76ers are a much better team with Harden as the fourth option than as the first option. Harden continued what Jalen Rose recently called his "concert tour," penciling in May 17 on the calendar (i.e., Harden shot 5-17 from the field). Here are Harden's previous "concert tour" dates from this series: 6-17, 3-9, 7-13. That adds up to a .375 field goal percentage in four playoff games versus Toronto for the player Daryl Morey called "by far number one in NBA history" as a scorer. Harden also had a team-high nine assists, five rebounds, four turnovers, and a game-worst -14 plus/minus number.
Embiid labored his way to 21 points on 7-16 field goal shooting. He had eight rebounds and three assists. For the first time in this series, Embiid did not dominate the paint at either end of the court.
The most likely outcome for game five in Philadelphia is that the 76ers win after Embiid plays a bit better than he did in game five, and after Harden's role is reduced as his teammates regain their footing on their home court. Barnes is hobbling, and the status of Toronto's All-Star guard Fred VanVleet is uncertain after he left game five with a hip injury. So, the odds are still heavily against Toronto recovering from a 3-0 deficit to beat Philadelphia in seven games, but if two star players are going to play central roles in the first such collapse in NBA playoff history then I would not be surprised to see Embiid and Harden "accomplish" this feat: Embiid has a history of never staying healthy for a full playoff run and never advancing past the second round, while Harden is perhaps the worst playoff choker among star players in pro basketball history.
Labels: James Harden, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors
posted by David Friedman @ 5:06 PM
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