The Sixers have a star. The Raptors don’t.
And because of that, the series is (basically) over.
Embiid hit a game-winning three-point shot with just under a second to play on Thursday night to give the Sixers a 104-101 win and a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
Joel Embiid: Embiid looked nothing like the MVP candidate he did in Game 2 — at least in the first half.
Embiid struggled from the jump against the Raptors, shooting 1/4 to start the game while turning the ball over five times. He looked completely out of it in the first half on both sides of the court. He was hesitant and sloppy with the ball on offense. He was lazy on defense, at one point just tapping away an easy rebound right into the hands of the Raptors, who turned the offensive rebound into a three.
Then, in the second half, the (should be) NBA MVP returned.
Embiid scored five-straight points midway through the third quarter, hitting a tough midrange shot followed by a three to cut the Raptors lead to just five. He then had a monster dunk to cut the Raptors lead to just three, 62-59, followed by a basket while being fouled to cut the Raptors lead to just one. He totaled 18 points in the third quarter, helping to cut what was a 10-point Raptors lead to only one, 75-74, at the start of the fourth.
Embiid was just as big down the stretch.
He hit a big shot with just under seven minutes to go to tie the game, 82-82. He then hit a three as the shot clock expired to tie the game, 87-87. In overtime he got an offensive rebound with the game tied, which lead to a Tyrese Maxey layup to give the Sixers a 99-97 lead. On the next possession he hit a fadeaway, turnaround jumper to give the Sixers a 101-100 lead.
Then, on the biggest play of the game, Embiid hit a fadeaway three to give the Sixers a 104-101 lead with 0.7 seconds to play. It was easily the biggest moment of Embiid’s playoff career, the game-winning shot that should be expected from an MVP-caliber player like Embiid.
Harden: Embiid was struggling early on. Maxey was nonexistent. The Sixers needed James Harden to step up against the Raptors.
In the first half, he did just that.
Harden was the team’s best offensive player on Wednesday night, showing flashes of being the scorer the Sixers thought they were getting when they traded for him. He was aggressive going to the basket and consistently got baskets when the Sixers were in danger of having the game slip away. He had a team high 12 points at halftime, keeping the team in the game while Embiid was throwing it away. Harden remained aggressive in the second half when the team needed him to be, twice driving to the basket in the final two minutes.
Ultimately, however, Harden wasn’t there when the team needed him. First, he missed a crucial free throw with just under a minutes to play that would have given the Sixers the lead. Missing that free throw in that spot is inexcusable. The Sixers traded away Ben Simmons so they didn’t need to worry about missed free throws in big spots. Then, Harden fouled out, leaving the Sixers without their (arguably) best perimeter player on the final sequence an all of overtime.
Perhaps the biggest question about the Sixers after the first two games against Toronto was whether they could truly count on Harden to score. Game 3 was probably the best sign since they acquired him that they can. The game might get away from the Sixers if Harden doesn’t have the first half that he did.
Still, there is no denying that the Sixers traded for Harden for moments like at the end of the game. And in that moment on Wednesday night Harden came up small when it mattered.
Turnovers: The Sixers did a good job in the first two games of taking care of the ball. They did a terrible job on Wednesday. The Sixers turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter against Toronto, easily the worst job they have done protecting the ball in a long time. The Raptors weren’t able to take advantage early on, but eventually they did, building a 32-19 lead at the beginning of the first quarter. The Sixers finished the first half with 14 turnovers, close to the total (17) they had in the first two games combined. They then started the second half by turning it over on their first possession. The turnovers were cleaned up as the game went on, but the sloppy play early on is why the Raptors even had a chance to win the game.
Danny Green: Wednesday was not a good night for Danny Green.
The Sixers had cut the Raptors’ once big lead to just seven points with under a minute to play in the first half — until Danny Green got called for a technical foul. Green went off on the officials after what he thought was a bad foul call, and had to be restrained by his teammates. It might have been a bad call, but second-year player Tyrese Maxey having to calm down a veteran like Green was a bad look for Green. Fred VanVleet hit the free throw and then Siakam hit a jumper, extending the Raptors lead back to double-digits at half time, 56-46.
In the second half, when the Sixers were trying to mount a comeback, Green twice had the ball right under the basket. Twice he didn’t convert. Those four points were huge as the Sixers tried to take the lead.
Thybulle: The Sixers were without Matisse Thybulle for Game 3 as the forward was eligible to play in Toronto due to his vaccination status. Thybulle hasn’t made much of an impact on the offensive end in the first two games, but it seemed like they missed his defense on Wednesday, as the Raptors guards looked they best they have all series.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com