Leonard nets 45, leaves room for more

He passes up shot at career high as red-hot Raptors continue dominance of 76ers.

TORONTO — Kawhi Leonard wasn’t interested in setting a career high against the Philadelphia 76ers. Even as history beckoned, Toronto’s understated star was hoping he could take a seat on the bench.

Leonard scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Pascal Siakam added 29 points and the Raptors beat the 76ers 108-95 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Saturday. The Raptors’ fifth straight postseason victory extended a franchise record.

Leonard matched his career high and topped his previous best postseason performance of 43, set with San Antonio. He made 16 of 22 shots, going three for six from three-point range, and went 10 for 11 at the line.

“I was trying to get out of the game before it got to that point,” Leonard said. “We were up 20 points with probably like five minutes left and I was already looking at the bench, trying to get them to take me out of the game.”

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said Leonard is “leaps and bounds” ahead of the player he coached as an assistant with San Antonio.

“The variety of ways that he scored and could get his shot off on some pretty good defensive players and big athletes was incredibly impressive,” Brown said.

Leonard received a standing ovation when he checked out with 3:14 to play and the Raptors up 107-88. He’s just the second player in Raptors history to eclipse 40 points in a playoff game. The other was Vince Carter, who scored 50 against Philadelphia in Game 3 of the second round on May 11, 2001.

“Kawhi was just in the zone,” Toronto’s Kyle Lowry said. “He probably could’ve had more, but he facilitated some.”

Toronto won its 14th consecutive home game against Philadelphia and improved to 22-3 against the 76ers since the start of 2013-14. No other opponent has beaten Philadelphia more often over the past five seasons.

JJ Redick scored 17, Joel Embiid 16 and Tobias Harris had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the 76ers, whose four-game playoff win streak ended. Embiid missed nine of 13 shots in the first half and finished five for 18.

“We’re not going home, we’re not going away,” Brown said. “We will dig in and come back better.”