Raptors can’t trip up Embiid, Sixers this time

Toward the end of his virtuoso performance, Joel Embiid swatted Pascal Siakam and began a victory trot to the other end of the court.

Siakam had fallen to the court after being rejected, and something – probably frustration — prompted the Raptors forward to stick out his leg like a dog peeing. The overall purpose was clearly to trip Embiid, and Siakam was successful.

It was one of the few times the Raptors hit their target Friday night.

Except that moment also sealed Toronto's 116-95 blowout defeat to the Sixers in Game 3. Siakam collected a flagrant foul, and the Sixers scored four points as a result – two on Embiid's free throws, two on the ensuing Jimmy Butler layup. Philly's lead ballooned to 16 with less than 10 minutes remaining. And that was it. The fourth quarter started with a reasonable deficit for the Raptors – just eight points – but was doubled within two minutes.

Kawhi Leonard watched that run from Toronto's bench and, if this series has proven nothing else about the Raptors, it's that their supporting cast is a disappointment.

Kyle Lowry, in particular, has been an average player, at best, and sometimes downright awful like on Thursday with his seven points on 2-of-10 shooting. Serge Ibaka (four points) and Marc Gasol (7) were also nonfactors. The Raptors have only one consistent force – Leonard (31 points) – and he may be gone after the season as an unrestricted free agent. Rookie Toronto coach Nick Nurse is also having a rough series, and made a disastrous decision to keep Leonard on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Sixers countered with all their stars on the court and they ran away with this game for their 2-1 series lead. Embiid was fantastic with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Butler continued his strong series with 22 points and nine assists.

Things turned a tad chippy in the second quarter, when Ben Simmons fell to the court after he was boxed out by Lowry. Simmons threw his elbow into Lowry's groin, and Lowry sold the contact.

The act was not caught by referees, but Simmons could still retroactively be assessed a technical foul pending a league review. Not that it matters unless Simmons accumulates seven technicals in the postseason for an automatic one-game suspension. On Thursday, Simmons' groin shot was quickly forgotten.

SIXERS RAPTORS 116 95