Leonard scores 21, Raptors rout 76ers 125-89 to win Game 5
By IAN HARRISON Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Raptors came up with a new load management plan for Kawhi Leonard. It was to make sure their star forward didn't have to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Leonard had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and the Raptors used a balanced attack and a huge second quarter to rout the Philadelphia 76ers 125-89 Tuesday night and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Toronto can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in four seasons with a victory in Game 6 at Philadelphia on Thursday night. The Raptors lost in six games to Cleveland in the East finals in 2016.
If the 76ers can extend the series to a seventh game, it would be played in Toronto on Sunday night.
Leonard, who had scored 33 or more points in each of the first four games of the series, shot 7 for 16 from the field and 7 for 8 at the line before checking out with 7:22 to play and Toronto up 103-73. He had four assists and two steals.
"Tonight was one of those games where we let him rest a little bit, which is important," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. "He had a big double-double, but he didn't have to do everything offensively."
Leonard scored 39 points in Toronto's Game 4 win on Sunday.
Lowry scored 19 points, while Danny Green shot 5 for 7 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points. Marc Gasol scored 11 points and Serge Ibaka had 10. All five Toronto starters scored in double digits.
"Kawhi still had a great game and the surrounding cast contributed," 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
The 36-point margin was the largest in Toronto's postseason history, and marked Philadelphia's worst playoff defeat since a 40-point loss to Boston in Game 1 of the 1982 Eastern Conference finals.
"The spirit, I thought, went away a little bit quicker than I'd wished," Brown said.
Up by one after the first, the Raptors outscored the 76ers 37-17 in the second to take a 21-point lead, 64-43, at halftime.
"The second period is where it got away from us," Brown said. "I give Toronto credit, we didn't have the answers for a few of their players and it snowballed."
Ahead 92-70 at the start of the fourth, Toronto extended its lead to a game-high 40 points on a dunk by Normal Powell with 2:24 remaining.
The Raptors shot 16 for 40 from 3-point range, setting a franchise record for 3-pointers in a postseason game. They hadn't made more than 10 in the four previous games this series.
"The 3-point shot was punishing tonight," Brown said.
Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and Tobias Harris had 15 for the 76ers, who have lost two straight after winning the previous two.
Joel Embiid scored 13 points and had eight turnovers. Embiid started despite missing the morning shoot-around because of flu-like symptoms.
"Offensively there was a rhythm to his game that was clearly out of synch," Brown said. "He's been in bed for two days."
Embiid also battled illness in Games 2 and 4.
"I know I've got to do a better job for us to win," Embiid said.
Sixers guard Ben Simmons shot 3 for 5 and finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and five turnovers.
Siakam scored nine points in the first and Lowry had eight as Toronto led 27-26 after one. Leonard had seven rebounds and five points in the first.
Ibaka needed three stitches to close a cut on his forehead after he was inadvertently elbowed by Leonard in the opening quarter. Ibaka returned to start the second and, despite a visible bump on his head, soon scored his first points by blowing past Embiid for a dunk.
Green scored nine points in the second, making three of Toronto's four 3-pointers. Toronto shot 12 for 21 in the second while Philadelphia shot 6 for 20.
Leonard, who missed six of his first eight shots, punctuated Toronto's decisive second quarter with a powerful one-handed slam, driving into the paint from near center court and splitting a pair of defenders to throw it down with 2.6 seconds left.
"That was pretty impressive," Siakam said. "Plays like that always give us energy."
TIP-INS
76ers: Simmons turned the ball over on each of Philadelphia's first two possessions. ... Embiid and Simmons had more turnovers (12) than made baskets (eight) through the first three quarters. ... Philadelphia recorded seven assists on eight made baskets in the first. ... The 76ers shot 1 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half. They finished 6 for 24. ... The Sixers had more fouls in the first half (16) than field goals (14).
Raptors: Leonard had 13 points and 10 rebounds at halftime. ... F OG Anunoby (appendectomy) joined his teammates on the bench for the first time since undergoing emergency surgery two days before the start of the playoffs. ... Toronto shot 29 for 33 from the foul line.
TAKE WING
As Embiid headed to the bench in the fourth, fans behind the Raptors' bench mocked the 76ers big man by mimicking the airplane celebration he showed off after a big dunk in Game 3.
"I didn't notice, I just saw them shake their bodies," Embiid said. "But good for them."
SEE YOU SUNDAY?
While walking off the court after the game, Embiid paused to tell rapper Drake, Toronto's Global Ambassador, that the 76ers would be back for Game 7.
THE HAUNTING
The 76ers had 19 turnovers, leading to 31 points for Toronto.
"That is haunting," Brown said. "You cannot win with those types of numbers."
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Millsap, Jokic spark Nuggets' 124-98 blowout of Blazers
By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP) — Paul Millsap is showing the young'uns how it's done.
Millsap scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half Tuesday night, sparking Denver's 124-98 blowout of the Portland Trail Blazers that put the Nuggets on the verge of their first trip to the Western Conference finals in a decade.
The 34-year-old forward with nearly 100 games of playoff experience has injected some savvy into a series dominated by youth and emerging stars.
"It's not his first time, you know? He's been here before," Jamal Murray said. "He's showing everybody the ropes. ... He does all the little things that can help us win games and sets the tone for us."
Millsap is averaging 19 points and 9.6 boards in the best-of-seven series that the Nuggets lead 3-2 with Game 6 coming up Thursday night in Portland.
Gary Harris called Millsap "that calming factor" for a team making its first playoff appearance in six seasons. "He's been huge for us this series. He's been bringing it offensively, defensively and he helped us get off to a great start today."
After Millsap got the Nuggets going with a dozen first-quarter points, Nikola Jokic took over from there, scoring 25 points and pulling down 19 rebounds, tying a team NBA playoff high. Murray added 18 points to go with nine assists and zero turnovers.
Damian Lillard, who led Portland with 22 points, said it's exhausting facing the waves of young sharpshooters the Nuggets send at you, starting with the fulcrum of Jokic and Murray running the pick-and-roll.
"And then when all else fails, you've got to guard Millsap," Lillard lamented. "He's a handful for guys to guard because he's in the paint, he's making face-up jumpers, he's making 3s. In transition, you've got to find him, and then he's a monster on the glass."
Leaning on Millsap's experience and well-rounded game, he said, "is just something they can always go to, something they can always count on. So, it's tough to deal with."
Millsap helped the Nuggets turn in the first lopsided game of a series that was so evenly matched coming in that Denver held a cumulative scoring advantage of 464-462 and both teams had made the same number of free throws and 3-pointers.
The Nuggets never trailed and stretched a six-point lead after one quarter to 18 at the half and 28 heading into the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 31 before a parade of backups gave the starters some much-needed breathers.
Coming off a resounding Game 4 win that followed that epic quadruple-overtime loss, the Nuggets were focused and efficient just as coach Mike Malone promised when he said Denver wouldn't dare let up and exhale at home after reclaiming the home-court advantage.
Whatever adjustments Blazers coach Terry Stotts tried to make at the half didn't take as the Nuggets outscored Portland 28-18 in the third quarter, and before long, the Blazers were thinking more about salvaging Game 6 and hoping to regroup for a return trip to Denver in hopes of a different outcome.
"We've got two must-wins ahead of us," Stotts said.
CAUTION AHEAD
Malone said he hopes his team learned from its Game 6 loss at San Antonio last series and doesn't have a similar letdown in Portland. Although the Nuggets have contained Lillard, Malone said the Nuggets are well aware that the Blazers' star could go off for 50 points Thursday night.
Lillard concurred, saying, "I've had big games against tough defense in games where I was getting a lot of attention. With our season on the line and knowing we've got to have two games in a row, you never know."
HEAVY HEART
Malone lives in the neighborhood where a school shooting left one student dead and several wounded Tuesday in suburban Denver. Malone and his wife have two daughters who attend school nearby.
"When kids go to school, they should be going to school to learn, have fun, be with their friends, not worried about an active shooter," Malone lamented during a heartfelt pre-game news conference .
Malone didn't want to address the tragedy with his team before tip-off, saying it was "a conversation and a subject maybe on an off day." He also was struggling with how he'll talk about it with his kids: "I'm texting my daughter, telling her she's going to be OK — I don't even know if she will be OK."
TIP-INS:
Portland: Blazers center Enes Kanter said he reached out to NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon for advice on performing in the playoffs while fasting during Ramadan. "He gave me tips," said Kanter, who is avoiding all food and drink from sunrise to sunset, which was about a half hour before tip-off Tuesday night.... Meyers Leonard was whistled for a flagrant 1 foul for excessive contact on Jokic in the closing minutes.
Denver: Murray picked up a technical in the third quarter while demonstrating a move by Lillard to an official, who took offense. ... Denver outscored Portland 66-44 in the paint and outrebounded the Trail Blazers 62-44. ... The Nuggets shot 90.3% from the free throw line (28 of 31) whereas the Blazers were 16 of 30 for 53.3%.
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