PHILADELPHIA – If a 20-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was not bad enough, the Toronto Raptors lost rookie Scottie Barnes to an ankle injury.
Tyrese Maxey scored 21 of his 38 points in the third quarter and shattered the Raptors’ hopes of a 131-111 victory for the 76ers on Saturday in Game 1 of the first round of the series.
Pascal Shiakam scored 24 points in a difficult night for the Raptors, who saw Barnes leave the game with an injury to his left foot and Fred Van Wlyt being sent off early in the fourth quarter. OG Anunoby added 20 points for Queen City.
Barnes had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a stunning start to the series, before 76ers’s 280-pound center Joel Embiid stumbled to his feet and left him anxiously on the ground. VanVleet had 18 points and six assists before leaving the game in the same straight line.
“For a young rookie in his first road playoff game against a very good team, I thought he belonged on the pitch,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurs of Barnes.
X-rays of Barnes’s injury were negative and he will undergo further imaging on Sunday.
Embiid had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Raptors improved to 5-17 in their first meeting in a row. The second duel will take place on Monday in Philadelphia.
“We could have lost by 50 points tonight, but it’s just a game,” said Shiakam. Obviously we know we have to play better than today to have a chance to win against them. We need to watch the videos and improve, but that’s the nature of the series. There are ups and downs and we must maintain the same focus and intensity. »
The teams will return to the collar in Toronto for Games 3 and 4 on April 20 and 23, respectively. The series will return to Philadelphia for Part Five, if needed.
It was the first playoff game between the two Atlantic Division rivals since Kawhi Leonard’s basket knocked the 76ers to the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 76ers’ 21-point lead in the second half increased to 24 points at the beginning of the second half. Precious Achiuwa had a three-point game that ended a 10-2 series for the Raptors, who closed the gap to 11 points.
But James Harden, who had 22 points and 14 assists in his first playoff game for the 76ers, had a three-pointer and a run shot before making a skillful pass to Maxi.
The 76ers led 107-88 with just a quarter left.
“We were not ourselves in many aspects of the game,” VanVleet said. Most of the things we do come from our aggression, our greatness and our ball games. We cause upheavals, we block shots. Whether it was the nervousness of some of our new players or the whistling of the referees, we were a bit slow. They have won the battle of physicality. »
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
