The NBA playoffs officially began, the 76ers sat at home to meet the Raptors, although the record is the same as the Green Army and bucks, but due to division ranking problems, the 76ers eventually only ranked fourth in the East, and the Raptors went low and high in fifth.
In the 4 games of the regular season, the 76ers are at a disadvantage with 1 win and 3 losses, but the playoffs and the regular season are completely two systems of games, and the main competition is still the star ability, so the team still has an absolute advantage.
However, the Raptors are a team that stands on defense and hard work, and is very good at taking advantage of the mistakes of opponents, which is a big test for Harden, and his performance will undoubtedly become the winner of the game.
As soon as the game began, the away Raptors dominated the away game, with VanVleet's three-pointer topped the spot.
Fortunately, the 76ers, who played at home, clearly prepared for this round of the series, quickly pulled back the situation under the leadership of Harden and Embiid, and blossomed inside and out, ending the first quarter with an eight-point lead.
In the second quarter, the 76ers' offensive momentum did not decrease, completely choked the Raptors' offensive and defensive lifeline, the 76ers would rather shoot the basket than give the Raptors a chance to counterattack, did not make a mistake in the half game, and controlled the rebounds in the backcourt, which made the 76ers lead by as much as 18 points at the end of the half.
Easy side to fight again, the Raptors continue to improve the intensity of defense, trying to force the 76ers to make mistakes, helplessly, the 76ers more blossoms, Embiid, Harden, Maxi and Harris opened one after another, which made the Raptors helpless.
At the end of the third quarter, although the Raptors fired 37 points in the third quarter, the point difference was still stretched by the 76ers to as much as 19 points.
Entering the final quarter of the competition, the 76ers are still steady and steady, absolutely do not give the Raptors a chance to defend and counterattack, and finally the 76ers easily defeated the Raptors 131-111, won the series with a 20-point victory, and changed the score to 1-0.
Throughout the game, the 76ers played steadily, completely crushing the Raptors in terms of tactical strategy, and strangling the Raptors' two major killing moves in the cradle.
The first was the Raptors' defensive counterattack on which the offense depended, with the 76ers making just four turnovers, 0 turnovers at halftime, and only one turnover in the third quarter, which also set a league record for nearly 25 years.
In the absence of mistakes, the Raptors had no way to push a quick counterattack, and could only honestly play a positional battle with the 76ers, which is the weakness of raptors players, because they lack a stable point of possession.
The second is that the 76ers protected the rebounds, grabbed 39 rebounds in the whole game, 3 more than the Raptors, which made the Raptors unable to play the advantage of the scramble, could not form a second offense, and completely locked the Raptors' offensive system.
Coupled with the 76ers' scoring points, "West" Maxy alone had 38 points and 4 rebounds, and Harris also had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
This left the 76ers with a double core and the Raptors already overwhelmed, with Harden having 22 points, 5 rebounds and 14 assists, and Embiid only shooting 15 times, with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists.
The key to Philadelphia being able to do both is that Harden is in full control of the situation, has always controlled the rhythm in his own hands, and constantly dismantled the Raptors' attack and defense.
What's more, Harden found a three-pointer on the offensive end, shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range, which forced the Raptors to change their defensive strategy.
If Harden can maintain this level of organizational ability all the time, then the Raptors have little hope of winning, even if Maxi's state fluctuates, the Raptors without defensive counterattack support will be difficult to pose a real threat to the 76ers.