In the second round of the NBA playoffs, the 76ers fought fiercely at home for 4 quarters, and finally defeated the Raptors 112-97, rewriting the series score to 2-0, the situation was very good, and the next two games, the two sides will move to Toronto, at the Raptors home.
After the last fiasco, the Raptors made some adjustments at the beginning of the game, they deliberately played tougher in the interior confrontation, hoping to put more pressure on Embiid in the physical confrontation, which is why Embiid and Anunoby had a skirmish early after the opening and both ate T.
But this kind of confrontation can not stop Embiid at all, after all, the Raptors do not have the same type of players, can put pressure on Embiid, but in this confrontation, Embiid is constantly sent to the free throw line.
Throughout the first quarter, Embiid scored 19 points, shot 4-of-6, and scored 12 free throws, hitting 11 hits, more than the number of free throws in the previous game.
However, the Raptors also performed well on the offensive end in the first quarter, VanVleet shot down 15 points in a single quarter to lead the team to fight with the opponent, the score was very sticky, and the Raptors took a slight lead of 33-32 after the first quarter. But this momentum did not last long.
In the second quarter, the Raptors continued to put pressure on Embiid on the offensive end, leaving him with only 2 shots in the quarter and no points.
But it's clear that focusing on Embiid will also give Embiid's teammates better chances. Harden, Maxi and T Harris stepped forward one after another, and the trio teamed up to shoot down 26 points, leading the team to a 35-19 offensive wave in the quarter, instantly turning the situation around, and after halftime, the 76ers led by 15 points at 67-52, and the scene was quite similar to the previous game.
In the third quarter of the game, the momentum of the 76ers was fully stimulated, and Embiid once again found the aggressiveness of the offensive end after the midfield adjustment, T Harris also stepped forward, a 3-point shot, helped the 76ers to stretch the point difference to 20 points, after which Embiid became more and more courageous, under his leadership, the score was once stretched to 25 points.
Embiid then eased with an arm injury, and Maxi led the team to a fight that ended in the third quarter, and the 76ers led by 24 points at 95-71.
In the final quarter, Harden re-dressed, the Raptors increased their defensive intensity, constantly wrapped Harden and played a counterattack, a wave of 7-2 offensive to stop the 76ers. After the timeout returned, the Raptors continued to score eight points in a row, and a wave of 15-2 offensive moves chased the score to 86-97. On the other hand, on the 76ers side, the offense was completely out of rhythm, until Maxi steals to complete the pursuit of 3 points, only to break the scoring drought and stabilize the situation.
After that, the 76ers began to regain their rhythm, a wave of 8-0 offense to stop the Raptors, with 4 minutes and 18 seconds left, the 76ers led 105-86. The game has almost lost its suspense. In the end, the Raptors chased the score to no avail, and once again lost the game by a big score.
In this game, the 76ers are the big four at the same time, and they jointly cut 88 points, 36 rebounds and 15 assists.
Embiid was still clueless, constantly standing on the free throw line in the first quarter, except for the second quarter, he was revived in the second half, giving his opponents a heavy blow at both ends of the attack and defense. Throughout the game, Embiid scored 31 points and 11 rebounds, another big double-double performance.
Maxi became a big hero, when Harden Embiid was resting, he maintained the offensive firepower on the court well, and the key stop bleeding 3 points in the fourth quarter was even more valuable, completely extinguishing the arrogance of the Raptors' counterattack, and also saving the decline of the 76ers, worthy of philadelphia's third giant. In the end, he cut a quasi-triple-double performance of 23 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Harden's feel is still average, but his offensive desire is not strong, more focused on organization and defense, the whole game, he only shot 9 times, hit 3 goals, and finally contributed 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while there are 3 steals and 2 blocks, the performance on the defensive end is amazing. With more teammates to score, Harden's pressure on the offensive end is also much easier.
After two games in the playoffs, if Maxi's outburst is predictable, then T Harris's outstanding performance is a big surprise. In this game, he played well again, contributing 20 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks, and performed well at both ends of the attack and defense, which was fully in line with his own value.
When the Philadelphia Big 4 can sustain such a performance, it will not come as a surprise to lightly beat the Raptors in the first round, and how to maintain their stability in the next game in Toronto will be a huge challenge. If they want to retire from the road, perhaps they also need other substitutes to step up and share the pressure of the main force.