Player grades: Joel Embiid, Sixers rally from 17 down to beat Raptors
TORONTO–The Philadelphia 76ers entered Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday down a man. Due to the vaccination status of Matisse Thybulle, they were missing their best perimeter defender and they were also missing a man as part of their rotation. The Toronto Raptors were able to take advantage of that in this one.
The Raptors began playing their style of basketball and the Sixers had a tough time responding as they only played eight guys in this one rather than choose somebody to replace Thybulle. The Sixers found themselves down 17 early and they were frustrated as they made a ton of mistakes. However, they were able to overcome all of that and knock off the Raptors 104-101 in overtime Game 3 and take a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
Joel Embiid had 33 points and 13 rebounds to lead Philadelphia, James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists to go along with six rebounds before fouling out, Tyrese Maxey had 19 points, and Tobias Harris added 11 and 12 rebounds. Danny Green had nine and seven rebounds and Georges Niang added nine points.
Here are the player grades following the thrilling win:
James Harden: A
This was aggressive Harden in this one. When Toronto started the game on a fast start, he calmed the team down a bit with a tough triple. He also was getting into the paint and he made plays for his teammates with his passing. There were multiple 3s the Sixers generated off of his decisions. He made some timely buckets in this one when the Sixers really needed it. The Raptors struggled to defend the pick-and-roll between him and Embiid. This is where having Harden helps as a veteran who can calm teams down in hostile moments.
Tyrese Maxey: B+
This seemed like another start where Maxey has a slow start to the game. Coach Doc Rivers mentioned it after Game 2 that he told Maxey that he wasn’t being aggressive enough to start the game and that seemed to carry over to this one. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter when he started to look for his own shot and that was very helpful in keeping Philadelphia in the game. Overall, the young man looked a little rattled by the hostile environment that Toronto offered. He does get credit for making some tough shots late and he was huge in the overtime session. He looked like he shook off the jitters a bit.
Danny Green: C
One can always tell when Green is healthy and feeling good. When he is able to move freely without the ball and he has a lot of lift on his jumper. That is when he is able to have success on the offensive end of the floor. He did get very animated in the second quarter when the Sixers were called for a loose ball foul which led to him being called for a technical foul and he had to be held back by both Embiid and Harden to keep him from picking up another one. It was just that type of night.
Tobias Harris: C+
Harris struggled to get into his early rhythm as he has to begin this series, but that is mostly due to the fact that the ball wasn’t moving and the Sixers weren’t able to play with pace. To get Harris into his rhythm, the ball has to be hopping, and that allows him to quickly catch and shoot the ball. He did play great defense on Pascal Siakam, though. He was great with help defense as well. Overall, there just wasn’t enough of an opportunity for him in this one. He also missed a bunny off an offensive rebound that would have won the game for Philadelphia in regulation.
Joel Embiid: A
The Raptors started this game aggressively as they sent defenders from all over the place to bother Embiid. The big fella committed a few turnovers as he looked frustrated to start. Toronto doubled him in the post every time he caught the ball there. The Sixers began running the pick-and-roll late in the second quarter and that allowed him and Harden to catch a little bit of rhythm. In the third quarter, Embiid awoke from his slow start. He was much more assertive as he made quick moves with the basketball rather than waiting for the Raptors to come to him. The big fella really began to throw the team on his back and do what he does and that was impressive in this one. He had 18 points in the third quarter to really bring the Sixers back in this one. He gets points off for the turnovers and the poor first half. The 3-pointer he made with 0.8 seconds left was absolutely insane to win it.
Georges Niang: B+
With the Sixers struggling to get into a rhythm on the offensive end, it was good to get Niang into the game and start launching from deep. He knocked down a triple right away and the Sixers benefitted from having him out there. His 3-pointers were timely as he was important on offense, but he had a tough time on defense.
Paul Reed: D+
The Bball Paul minutes were disastrous in this one. He lost his man constantly on defense and he had committed a few turnovers on the offensive end of the floor with bad placement on an offensive foul and he could not make the same impact he did in the first two games of this series. Give him credit for playing a bit better in the second half.
Shake Milton: D-
Milton did not do much in this one. This was really just a tough matchup for everybody for the bench unit, but Milton just looked a little overwhelmed out there.
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