3 between . game Philadelphia 76ers And Toronto Raptors We were blessed with an epic ending. With 2.5 seconds left in overtime and the match tied 101-101, the Sixers All-Star . midfield Joel Embiid He pulled down the biggest shot of his entire career.
The ball entered Embiid a little behind the three-point line with less than a second left on the shot clock, and the big player blocked the pass, turned and fired a shot at the Raptors goalkeeper Fred Vanfleet. The ball headed toward the edge like a heat-seeking missile and hit nothing but the bottom of the net. splash.
The shot—the first professional Embiid winner—gave the Sixers a 104-101 lead, thus a 3-0 lead in the chain of command over Toronto. The streak is not over, but such progression has proven historically insurmountable in the past, as no team in league history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series of top seven groups.
Especially for the Raptors after they played their best game of the series, the shot had to be deflated, by far. After losing 2-0 and clearly wanting to avoid getting stuck in that 3-0 hole, Toronto came out with an extra sense of urgency and intensity on Wednesday night, and led a good chunk of the game because of it. The Raptors led by 10 points after one quarter, and they maintained that lead heading into the locker room in the first half.
The Sixers began to reclaim their strength in the second half, thanks in large part to a third quarter of 18 points from Embiid. Philadelphia cut Toronto’s lead to one after 36 minutes of action, and they were clearly able to tie it to the end of regulation. In overtime, the Embiid dagger proved to be the difference in the end. The Sixers didn’t have a single lead in the game until overtime. With that stat alone, the Raptors must have felt like they let someone slip away.
After his hopes and those of The Sixers were dashed in the playoffs by the Raptors winner in the same arena in 2019, Embiid had to be satisfied with some of the upside. But while the big slave was clearly pleased with the outcome of Game 3, he is well aware that the series isn’t over yet.
“This is the best [shot of my career]Embiid said after the match, but the job is not over. “We got another one, so we have to come back here in a couple of days and try to beat them again.”
Embiid (33 points, 13 rebounds) led the way for Philadelphia in Game 3, but he also had his fair share of help, as he has all the series. James Harden And Therese Maxi Both scored 19 points, and Harden paired his point production with 10 assists. Tobias Harris He also hit a double (11 points, 12 rebounds). The Sixers have benefited from a balanced scoring attack across all series.
On the other hand, OG Anunoby scored 26 points and grabbed five rebounds for Toronto, Gary Trent Jr.. He added 24 points despite suffering from an illness and Precious Ichiwa He had 20 off the bench. As a team, they forced 24 metabolisms, but in the end it wasn’t enough. After three matches, it became clear that they had outlasted the match in the series, and at this point, any result other than the Sixers’ lead would be shocking.
For Embiid, his triple indicators of overtime were the only memorable shot of his career so far, and while it could be the first winner of his career, there’s a good chance it won’t be the last.
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