Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, right, dives for the ball as Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers defends during Game Two of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 29, 2019 in Toronto.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
A 35-point game by Kawhi Leonard – including an exhilarating fourth-quarter burst – was not enough to deliver the Toronto Raptors a playoff victory on Monday night.
The Raptors nearly found a way to win a game in which they shot poorly, were badly out-rebounded and trailed by as much as 19 points. But their feisty comeback fell just short and the Philadelphia 76ers prevailed 94-89, tying up their Eastern Conference semi-final series at 1-1.
Jimmy Butler led the 76ers with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Pascal Siakam had 21 points on a 9-of-25 shooting night, while Kyle Lowry contributed 20 points.
“Everyone wants to paint a picture that we haven’t won here in however many years,” said Butler, as the 76ers had not won in Toronto since 2012. “I’m just glad we came out on top. We’re going home and we need to do the same thing we did tonight.”
Just 48 hours after looking like a possible NBA Finals contender, the Raptors looked lackluster for much of Game 2.
Philly’s All-Star centre Joel Embiid played 32 minutes after missing morning shoot-around with a stomach illness, and hooking up to an IV before the game.
“If you’ve had the sh---s before, you would know how it feels,” said Embiid to a roar of laughter from the media. “I knew I was playing. There’s no way I was missing this game.”
Butler hit two(of his eventual four) early threes to get the Sixers going early.
Siakam and Leonard, who had been so wildly efficient in the first quarter of Game 1, were shooting cold to open Game 2. The 76ers found defensive success assigning Embiid to Siakam and 6-8 point guard Ben Simmons to Leonard. It was tough to beat big Embiid at the rim, and the 76ers were sending some double-teams. Together, in Monday’s first quarter, Toronto’s dynamic scoring duo went an unremarkable 4-of-9.
Toronto, who had trailed for just seven minutes in their entire first-round series against the Orlando Magic, had already trailed longer than that before the second quarter was half over.
J.J. Redick hit three big shots, helping the 76ers build a whopping 19-point lead, which hushed the Toronto crowd. The Raptors bench was contributing very little offensively, while James Ennis had already exploded for 11 points off Philly’s bench and ex-Raptor Greg Monroe was patrolling the boards and producing buckets too.
Siakam, who had been so silky smooth while gliding to the rim throughout the post-season so far, was now being hampered by a defending limbs, and most of his opportunities were rimming out or banking off the backboard. Toronto’s quick get-out-and-go pace seemed to be lacking.
The Raptors had turned the 76ers over 13 times for 18 points in the first half, and Philly superstar big man Embiid was held to just four points and a single field goal attempt. Yet the Raps had also been very badly out-rebounded – 33-13 – and their shooting woes had not improved. After their lowest-scoring half of the postseason, the Raps were behind 51-38 going into the locker room.
The marquee playoff matchup had once again drawn some celebrities to Scotiabank Arena. Nashville Predators defenceman P.K. Subban was there with U.S. skiing legend Lindsey Vonn. Canadian tennis stars Bianca Andreescu and Milos Raonic were in the crowd, and so was Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner.
Toronto came out with renewed energy in the third quarter. They swiftly chopped that daunting deficit down to five points, as shots started falling for Leonard and Siakam. They combined for 18 points in the quarter, and what had been starting to smell like a blowout win for the 76ers had morphed into a close contest.
Lowry, Siakam and especially Leonard were trading buckets with Butler as the two teams played close in the fourth, particularly in the final minutes. They pulled to within a point, before Embiid banked in a devastating hook shot. Three-ball specialist Danny Green attempted a wide-open tying shot, but missed, closing out a 1-of-8 shooting night.
“It was a good adjustment by them, it was a game-plan adjustment,” said Lowry. “They came out more aggressive than us … we didn’t play well.”
The Raps were out-rebounded 53-36 and shot just 36.3 per cent. Their bench was badly out-scored 26-5. Monroe would add 10 points and five boards.
Embiid had 12 points for Philly on 2-of-7 shooting.
The series now shifts across the border to Philadelphia, where Games 3 and 4 will take place Thursday and Sunday.
Rachel Brady