Pascal Siakam poured in 34 points with his best performance of these playoffs, and the Raptors beat the 76ers 110-102 on Saturday to avoid elimination in their opening-round playoff series.
Gary Trent Jr. had 24 points, while Thaddeus Young chipped in with 13, and OG Anunoby finished with 11 for the Raptors, who played more than half the game without injured all-star guard Fred VanVleet.
While the Raptors led by as many as 17 points on Wednesday before their heartbreaking loss in overtime, Game 4 was a tight battle from the outset. The Raptors cobbled together a 12-point cushion in the second quarter, but the Sixers chipped away at the difference and the Raptors went into the fourth clutching an 80-77 lead.
Achiuwa gave the Raptors a 14-point lead when he slashed through the defence to the basket with 1:28 to play, to the delight of a rowdy Scotiabank Arena crowd that included singer Avril Lavigne.Siakam's solid game came three days after he scored just 12 points -- and zero in the second half -- in Game 3, and vowed to be more aggressive.
VanVleet, who'd missed 13 games down the stretch with a bruised right knee, left the game with a left hip strain late in the second quarter. He limped badly down the court, grabbing the neck of his jersey with two hands and ripping it in frustration. He limped straight to the locker-room. Siakam led the way with 10 points in a see-saw first quarter that saw neither team lead by more than four points. The Raptors shot just 2-for-9 from three-point range yet did enough to head into the second tied with Philly at 24-24.
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