(Philadelphia) Tyrese Maxey scored 21 of his 38 points in the third quarter and dashed the Toronto Raptors’ hopes of coming from behind in a 76 winers of Philadelphia 131-111 on Saturday in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
Posted at 9:38 p.m.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points on a tough night for the Raptors, which saw rookie Scottie Barnes leave the game with a left foot injury and Fred VanVleet ejected early in the fourth quarter. OG Anunoby added 20 points for the Queen City squad.
Barnes had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a strong start to the series, before the 280-pound center of the 76ersJoel Embiid, pile on his foot and leave him martyred on the ground.
VanVleet had 18 points and six assists before leaving the game in the same stretch.
Embiid had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Raptors improved to 5-17 in their first meeting of a series. The second duel will take place on Monday in Philadelphia.
It was the first playoff meeting between the two Atlantic Division rivals since the basket that beat Kawhi Leonard’s bell having eliminated the 76ers in the Eastern Semi-Finals in 2019.
The teams will return to Toronto for Games 3 and 4 on April 20 and 23, respectively. The series will return to Philadelphia for Part Five, if necessary.