Embiid injures hand, downs game-winner vs Raptors

Joel Embiid grabs his wrist in pain during the 2nd half of the 76ers win. Photo by Cole Burston, Getty Images

Joel Embiid knocked down a last second three in overtime to win game three in Toronto 104-101, the Sixers lead the series by as many games as they've played and hope to bring out the brooms in game four.

Late in a tie game, Sixers coach Doc Rivers drew up a side out-of-bounds play with 2.6 seconds left in regulation and 0.9 on the shot clock. Options included a Tyrese Maxey lob at the rim or a turn and shoot three from Embiid off of a ball-side Tobias Harris pin down.

A last second decision by Raptors coach Nick Nurse to put 6”1’ Fred Vanfleet in drop coverage, along with a miscommunication between OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. on switching screens, may have cost Toronto a final shot at game three.

Harris’ screen would free Embiid from his defender and Toronto was forced to rely on a helpside contest from the foot shorter Vanfleet, which proved ineffective.

Missing from the same spot at the end of regulation, Embiid reasoned he chose that spot on the floor to shoot from twice because it is one of his favorites, leaving little room for critique after making the overtime attempt.

“It felt great but the job is not done. We gotta get one more,” Embiid said in the postgame press conference.

Embiid came out at halftime with his thumb and wrist taped, when asked about it postgame he wasn’t sure what happened, just thought he might have twisted it as he felt pain.

Since then there are concerns that it may be a torn ligament in his thumb on his shooting hand, though Embiid has vowed to play through the injury, according to Shams.

He will get an MRI when the team returns to Philadelphia after playing in game 4, according to Yahoo Sports NBA Insider.

Philadelphia fans are not first timers in watching their best player vow to play through injury, as Embiid suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee in the first round of the playoffs last season and played an entire seven game series following.

The Sixers did not perform well in this game compared to the two previous against Toronto, with 16 team turnovers and just five points from MVP finalist Embiid in the first half, Philadelphia was playing catch up most of the game.

“Everyone kept saying the same thing, weather the storm, if we get it to single digits we good, if we take the lead we gon’ win the game,” said Maxey to reporters. “And it took us all game to get the lead but when we got it… We didn’t keep it but we won and that's all that matters,”

Georges Niang checked in eight minutes into the game and hit two quick threes to give the Sixers a spark off the bench, responding to the Raptors lead with a mixture of buckets from Harris, Maxey, and James Harden.

Trailing by as much as 17 in the second quarter, finishing the first half and the third quarter with a 10-point deficit, the Sixers first lead of the game wouldn’t come until overtime.

Nurse spoke on Embiid’s 23 second half points saying he was more forceful either scoring or getting to the free throw line with the ball, so the Raptors tried to get the ball out of his hands, to which they did not have enough success.

Raptors leading scorer, Pascal Siakam, didn’t score in the second half after the Sixers made a switch of putting Joel Embiid on him and matching his minutes.

“They put Embiid on him for most of the half and Embiid was playing up on him a little bit more than normal. He didn’t have a lot of great looks,” Nurse said postgame.

Sixers all-star guard James Harden would foul out of the game with 27 seconds left in regulation, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. 

“Thank the Lord that we played without James for 60 games before he got here, because everybody knew what to do, knew where to run, knew where everybody needed to be,” Maxey said to reporters postgame.

Sixers who had been with the team all season stepped up in these minutes without Harden, Maxey and Embiid finishing with all the Sixers overtime points but Harris' work off the ball had the most unheralded impact.

“Tobias Harris tonight was unbelievable, all over the floor defensively, he did so many little things, he set the last pick of the game. He was fantastic,” Rivers said. 

The Sixers will take on the Raptors Saturday at 2 p.m. looking to sweep the series 4-0 and go back to Philadelphia to rest and await their second round opponent of Atlanta or Miami.