Raptors force Game 5 as they finally solve the Embiid question

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Short of a few whistles the Raptors got just about everything they wanted out of Saturday’s Game 4.

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But the only thing that really mattered in the end was the result and that for the first time this series was in Toronto’s favour as they extended the series to a fifth game with a 110-102 win.

Joel Embiid, a man who has dominated the series, was held to just 21 points and eight rebounds as the Raptors sent multiple bodies at the Sixers bigger man, forcing the ball out of his hands.

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Embiid did not handle the pressure well, committing a game-high five turnovers accounting for one-third of the Sixers turnovers in the game by himself.

From Precious Achiuwa to Pascal Siakam to Thad Young and bits of Chris Boucher, Embiid did not have a lot of room to manoeuvre out that seemed to work very well for the Raptors.

Embiid came into the game with this right thumb taped. There are suggestions that he may have a torn ligament in the thumb but that won’t be confirmed until he gets some imaging done on it Monday in Philly.

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Either way it’s an impediment that helped the Raptors yesterday and should help them in Game 5 on Monday in Philadelphia.

The Raptors have their own issues, however. Point guard Fred VanVleet left the game with about five minutes left in the second quarter with a hip injury.

“I did talk to Alex McKechnie before I came in here,” Nurse said at his post-game press conference. “It’s his hip and they are going right now to get an MRI. He said it’s going to need some work. Just the imaging and the work will determine the next steps.”

Losing VanVleet for any portion of a game is tough. He’s the unquestioned leader of this group and the man who puts everyone in position to best succeed.

But it was a case of losing one and getting another back for the Raptors who welcomed Scottie Barnes into the rotation after a two-game absence.

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Well, first the Raptors had to present him with his Rookie of the Year trophy but then Barnes returned. He wasn’t quite what he was before he sprained that ankle when Embiid stepped on him in Game 1 but he had an impact on the game as he has in almost every one he has played in his rookie year.

Barnes came off the bench about six minutes into the game and when VanVleet was unable to return, assumed a chunk of the point guard duties as well.

Barnes wound up playing 25 minutes, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds and chipping in with six points.

“I think that’s a great run out for him on that thing to give him some confidence going forward here,” Nurse said.

The player of the game for the Raptors though was not in question. That honour belonged to Siakam, the same Siakam who was beating himself up just a day earlier for lacking aggressiveness in Game 3.

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There was no lack of that in Game 4 from Siakam, who finished with a post-season career high 34 points on 19 shots and 15 attempts from the free throw line.

“Yeah, I was probably more assertive,” Siakam said. “Just not a lot of just looking around. Just taking whatever was there. Like I talked about earlier, just attacking and taking advantage of whatever I feel like is an advantage and again just making the right play or at least trying to make the right play.”

Siakam was a man who would not be denied on Saturday.

Not by Embiid, not by Tobias Harris. It didn’t matter what the Sixers threw at him, Siakam seemed like he was either scoring from the field or going to the line all afternoon.

But even with VanVleet out of action for all of the second half and Barnes back but not quite in attack mode yet, Siakam still had plenty of scoring support in this one.

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Gary Trent Jr, healthy again after a nasty flu-bug pretty much erased him in Games 1 and 2, followed up his 24-point night in Game 3 with another 24 Saturday.

In the not quite-so-expected department were the 13 off the bench from Young who played a series-high 30 minutes in Game 4, earning praise from teammates and coaches alike.

The 14-year vet took his turn defending and handling Embiid which isn’t totally surprising but throwing in the 13 points on top of that made for a pretty special game.

“He’s the ultimate pro, right,” said Siakam. “See him every day, he comes in, gets his work done, after, recovery, he’s just a professional with all that.”

Young was asked what it’s like trying to corral a player like Embiid.

“You ever see two bears fight before?” Young asked back. “He’s a big body, big strong guy. It’s not my first rodeo, my first time playing against him so understanding when he’s coming down the court, do your work early. A guy who played in this league a long time ago, Aaron McKie would tell me, ‘Do you work early, do you work early’ and it would always work out for me. So, I continue to do my work early, give him different looks on defence: front him, three-quarter him, play behind him and push him off the block, make sure he catches the ball as far out as possible.”

Young and the rest of the Raptors’ defenders will get another shot at the big man Monday night in Philadelphia.

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