Raptors on the ropes after heartbreaking playoff OT loss to 76ers

The Toronto Raptors are on the verge of a quick exit from the 2022 playoffs. They fell into a 3-0 series hole with a 104-101 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their first-round match-up at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

No team in NBA history has ever come back to win a series after trailing 3-0.

Joel Embiid hit a buzzer-beating three pointer at the end of overtime to give Philadelphia the victory and the series stranglehold.

JOEL EMBIID FOR THE FREAKIN WINNNNNNN pic.twitter.com/V35NnRWD0V

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 21, 2022

The MVP finalist finished the night with 33 points and 13 rebounds.

76ers star James Harden fouled out with 27.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the game tied 95-95, but Precious Achiuwa missed both free throw attempts.

The Raptors came out strong, leading by 10 after the first quarter and extending it to as much as 17 in the second. The 76ers didn’t take their first lead of the game until overtime.

O.G. Anunoby led the Raptors with 26 points. That’s more than stars Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam combined to score. VanVleet finished with just 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting from the field, including 2-for-10 from three-point range. As for Siakam, he shot 6-for-16 for 12 points as well and didn’t get to the free throw line all night.

Toronto’s prized rookie power forward Scottie Barnes sat out for a second straight game after suffering a sprained ankle in Game 1.

“That’s about as tough a loss I can remember here… we’ve got a really, really big hole to dig out of,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after the game.

“We had our chances tonight. We had a bunch of great looks right down the stretch of regulation that could’ve put us a couple possessions ahead, but we never got there.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this was the first Raptors playoff game held in Toronto since the 2019 NBA Finals. The league held all 2020 postseason games in Orlando, Florida, where the Raptors fell to the Boston Celtics in the second round. They failed to qualify for the postseason last year while playing their home games in Tampa.

Game 4 will go at Scotiabank Arena at 2 pm ET/11 am PT on Saturday.