Late in the fourth quarter on Saturday, frustrated Sixers centre Joel Embiid inexplicably grabbed Pascal Siakam in a tackle.
Siakam was on his way to 34 points in his best playoff performance of his career, and he was working hard for every one of them, attacking Embiid all night long.
A game after going scoreless in the second half, Siakam turned the tables on the first-round playoff series, lifting Toronto to a 110-102 victory to avoid elimination and force a Game 5.
“Resilience. He’s always been a resilient player,” teammate Thaddeus Young said. “He’s always gonna fight through adversity. He knows his game. He knows how to bounce back and come back from having not-so-good games. That’s what he did.”
WATCH l Siakam posts playoff career-high 34 points as Toronto avoids sweep vs. 76ers:
Siakam stars in Raptors’ Game 4 win over 76ers
Pascal Siakam posted a playoff career-high 34 points as Toronto avoided the sweep with a 110-102 win. 2:32
Gary Trent Jr. had 24 points, while 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.
Scottie Barnes, Toronto’s newly minted NBA rookie of the year, finished with six points and 11 rebounds in his return after missing two games with a sprained left ankle.
WATCH | Barnes takes home rookie of the year honours:
Scottie Barnes gets his Rookie of the Year award from Masai Ujiri
Barnes was honoured at centre court before Game 4 of Toronto’s matchup against the 76ers. 0:57
James Harden had 22 points for Philly, while Embiid, playing with a thumb injury, finished with 21.
Siakam, who’s taken some heat from fans for these playoffs, said he was determined to be more aggressive on Saturday.
“It’s me having the ball and knowing that I have to make plays, and it’s not just only scoring, it’s everything,” Siakam said.
While the Raptors led by as many as 17 points on Wednesday before their heartbreaking overtime loss, Game 4…
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