It was a back-and-forth affair and with the series on the line, some great defensive effort was exhibited by both the teams. At the half-time, the Raptors led the Sixers 44-40. The things got only more closer in the second half and the home team eventually held on to the victory.

Kawhi Leonard led both the teams in scoring with 41 points and Joel Embiid led the Sixers scoring with 21 points. In this article, let us take a look at three talking points from this epic thriller in Toronto.

#3 Joel Embiid’s impressive double-double

You have to feel sad for Joel Embiid looking at the heart that he has shown all throughout the series battling health issues and still showing up every game. The 25-year-old center has been the Sixers’ go-to guy all season long and has had his best season this year.

The Sixers’ have failed to get it done whenever Embiid struggled in the game. Playing on the road in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he has once again showed why he is one of the best centers in the league and that he is going to be the future of this franchise.

Embiid scored 21 points and snagged 11 rebounds to keep the Sixers in the game. He also had 3 huge blocks and showed up in a huge way. After the game, Embiid left the court in tears and was consoled by his girlfriend.

#2 All five Sixers’ starters scored in double-digits

The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the strongest starting lineups in the association and that distributed the burden nicely on the starters for the most part of the season. With series on the line, all five starters had themselves a game as they all ended up scoring in double-digits.

While Joel Embiid led the team with 21 points, Jimmy Butler had 16 points, Tobias Harris had 15, Ben Simmons 13 and JJ Redick 17. In particular, JJ Redick was very impressive as he made some tough shots in clutch time.

However, the Sixers did not get a lot of productivity off the bench which is quite expected as Brett Brown played all his starters for over 40 minutes. The Sixers’ bench scored 8 points while the Raptors’ bench scored 21.

#1 Kawhi Leonard’s quadruple bounce dagger

This has to be the best moment of the night. With the scores tied at 90-90 and an opportunity to win the game for the Raptors, Leonard put up a fadeaway shot that bounced off the rim four times before dropping for the win.

This was a well contested shot but Kawhi still found a way to get it in the basket, thanks to the lucky bounces. He finished the game with 41 points but has attempted a ridiculous 39 shots. However, this is understandable as ‘The Claw’ has arguably been the Raptors’ best player all season long let alone the postseason.

He also had 8 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with 3 steals. This shot will go down as the greatest shot in Raptors’ history and he was mobbed by his teammates at the end of the game.

0 votes