What's up basketball fans! I am here again @dwin0603 to give you another exciting basketball discussion for another episode of NBA Talk, and today we will have a short recap of the match between the Philadelphia 76ers VS Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of their best of 7 playoff series for the Semi-finals. Let's start!
On Sunday night, the Eastern Conference Semi-finals match is now tied up at 2 games apiece after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-96 led by Kawhi Leonard who finished with 39 points and 14 rebounds.
Game Recap
It was a must win for the Raptors after being down 2-1 in the series when the Sixers beat them in Game 3. The Raptors bounced back with Kawhi Leonard carrying them again on his back. They now have home court advantage as they head to Game 5 in Toronto. The Sixers, on the other hand, needs to win one more on the road to finally make it to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2001 when "The Answer" Allen Iverson lead the team to the NBA Finals.
The Raptors started the first quarter with a 13-0 run where Kawhi Leonard scored 6 points on that rally as the Raptors took an early 22-11 advantage. Then, Philly answered back and outscored the Raptors to make it 24-21 using their 10-2 run.
Serge Ibaka showed terrific defense in the second quarter blocking Tobias Harris from transition but Joel Embiid throws down a huge slam on the next possession. Then, Embiid uses his own version of terrific defense blocking Ibaka and then finding Ben Simmons for a jam. Later on, Embiid again blocked Ibaka which resulted to a Jimmy Butler three and got the Sixers within 47-45 to end the first half. Pascal Siakam, the second best scorer for the Raptors started the game 0 for 8 and didn't score in the first half.
The action stayed hot in the third and both teams continue to go at each other in every possession. In the fourth period, Jimmy Butlers three at the top of the arc gave Philly a three-point lead, 84-81 but it did not last long as Gasol ties it with the three of his own then Kawhi's consecutive buckets gave them a 4 point advantage. Both Leonard and Butler sinks 2 free throws and JJ Redick later on hits a three to cut the lead to 1.
With 1 minute left in the game, Kawhi Leonard buried a cold-blooded step back three to put the Raptors on top 94-90 following a missed layup from Embiid. Then, Danny Green seal the game with his 4 free throws. Joel Embiid was not feeling well again before this game and he only managed to score 11 points while Tobias Harris only had 16 points shooting 7 for 23.
Stats
Kawhi Leonard - 39 pts, 14 reb, 5 ast
Kyle Lowry - 14 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast
Marc Gasol - 16 pts, 5 reb
Jimmy Butler - 29 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast
Tobias Harris - 16 pts, 6 reb
JJ Redick - 19 pts, 3 reb
That is all for today folks! I would love to hear your opinions about this article, so drop your comments now and let's have some basketball talk! 😁
Comments