Philadelphia (3-0) at Toronto (0-3)
When: Saturday, April 23rd, 2022
Where: Scotiabank Arena,
Toronto, Ontario
Time: 2:00 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Philadelphia -2.5/214.5
No team has every come back from a 3-0 series deficit in NBA history, so the Philadelphia 76ers should be feeling pretty good about themselves right now. The Sixers go for the first round sweep of the Toronto Raptors when they play Game 4 Saturday afternoon in Ontario. Joel Embiid has taken over the series and put an exclamation point on Game 3 with a turnaround 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give Philadelphia a 104-101 victory. Embiid scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter to help the 76ers come back from a 17-point second-quarter deficit. Philly has won and covered the spread in each of the first three games and are 3-point favorites for Game 4.
Embiid and the 76ers still remember when Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors beat the buzzer at the end of regulation with a shot over Embiid to win Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference second-round series. Embiid said “It felt great” to silence the crowd in Toronto, who went on to win the championship in 2019. The Raptors will need a lot of scoring from everyone, including Pascal Siakam, who was held to 12 points – zero in the second half – on Wednesday. Toronto has an extra day of rest in hopes of having Scottie Barnes (sprained left ankle) back on the court for Saturday. He has missed the past two games after playing well until he was injured in Game 1. If Toronto does not stage a comeback and win this series, then the speculation of head coach Nick Nurse leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers will begin.
Maybe things are starting to go the 76ers way in regards to their postseason success – or lack thereof. Toronto would left Embiid take that turnaround shot every time. Embiid finished with 13 rebounds to go with his 33 points, but was seen wearing a soft cast around his right wrist. He is not listed on the injury report, which means its probably not serious. The Sixers got very little from their bench, but all five starters scored at least nine points. James Harden dished out 10 assists to go with his 19 points, while Tyrese Maxey also had 19 points, but did commit five turnovers. This is the second straight first round that Philly has had a 3-0 series lead. They lost Game 4 in Washington last Spring but then finished things off in Game 5.
Free throws came into play in Wednesday’s Game 3, as the Raptors when just 12-of-18 including some crucial misses. With the score tied at 95 with 27 seconds to play, Precious Achiuwa missed two and neither team would score again to lead to overtime. With the Sixers leading 101-100 with 26 seconds left in overtime, OG Anunoby made his first free throw but missed the second and the Raptors didn’t get the ball back until there was 0.8 seconds remaining. Anunoby led the team with 26 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 24, but Fred VanVleet had just 12 on 3-for-13 shooting.
I believe this series is over. The Sixers took all the energy out of the Raptors and Toronto knows it will be almost impossible to come back. Philly is just a much better team and they want to end this now to rest up for Miami – or Atlanta.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: 76ers -3
