The Philadelphia 76ers missed their chance to complete the sweep against the Toronto Raptors, falling 110-102 in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena.
The 76ers shot 42.5 percent from the field and 13-for-31 from deep, with head coach Doc Rivers lamenting their lack of offensive execution when it mattered most.
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“I thought defensively, we weren’t bad," Rivers said postgame. "We were just so bad offensively tonight.”
The Raptors scratched and clawed on their home floor, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and forcing 16 turnovers on the night, which led to 22 points for Toronto. Because of that, Rivers refused to lay any blame on the officiating.
"I don't want to take away from what Toronto did. I thought they played hard, they played a bigger lineup at times and did a lot of switching so give them some credit. They deserved to win the game tonight.
"I'm not going to sit here and complain, I'm not going to do what they do. We got beat tonight."
"Give them some credit. They deserved to win the game tonight. I'm not going to sit here and complain, I'm not going to do what they do." 😬 pic.twitter.com/PCYOw5SHRd
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 23, 2022
James Harden, who recorded 22 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four turnovers on the night, echoed those sentiments postgame.
“We had opportunities to take advantage of and we didn’t," he said. "A lot of opportunities to capitalize on and take the lead and push it up from there. We just didn’t do it. It’s not about anybody else, but ourselves, we need to focus on things we can control and I think we’ll be in a great position.”
Harden, who shot 5-of-17 in Game 4, struggled to get into his offensive rhythm tonight as the Raptors' long, athletic defenders did a great job slowing the ball down and forcing a ton of empty possessions. Despite the off night, Harden believes there are positives to take away from the loss.
“I told the guys after the game that this is probably good for us,” Harden said. “We thought things were sweet and thought things were coastal and just easy. We had opportunities, we didn’t convert like last game, and they did. With that being said, it’s 3-1.”
The 76ers will return to Philly for Game 5 with an opportunity to close out the series on Monday, April 25.
