TORONTO–The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to finish off a sweep of the Toronto Raptors on the road on Saturday afternoon and look to move on to Round 2, but the Raptors had other plans as they staved off elimination in a 110-102 win.
The Raptors played their brand of basketball as they were flying all over the place and they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to create extra possessions for themselves and they forced Philadelphia into 16 turnovers which led to 22 points for themselves.
The Raptors also held James Harden to 5-for-17 shooting and they were really bothering him all day long. He could not get into an offensive rhythm which then led to Philadelphia having an issue getting into a rhythm as a team on that end of the floor.
With the series now shifting back to Philadelphia for Game 5, The Beard believes this can be a good thing for him and the team.
“I told the guys after the game that this is probably good for us,” said Harden. “We thought things were sweet and thought things were coastal and just easy. We had opportunities, we didn’t convert like last game, and they did. With that being said, it’s 3-1.”
The Sixers now return home where they won the first two games of this series rather easily before having their issues in Toronto. They will look to take care of business and move on to the semifinals and get some rest for their guys.
“We gotta do those things and we gotta do them from the beginning of the game and all the way to the end of the game,” Harden added. “It’s not about anybody else, but ourselves. If we do that, we’re growing as a team which is a good sign for us.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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