Raptors left searching for silver linings after Embiid all but ends their season

TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO – Joel Embiid had been waiting a long time for that moment.

In 2019, the 76ers star left Scotiabank Arena in tears after Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer beater put an end to his season. On Wednesday, he flipped the script.

There were 2.6 seconds left in overtime of a tied Game 3 and less than a second remaining on the shot clock for Philadelphia. Former Raptor Danny Green inbounded from the same spot Marc Gasol threw the ball in nearly three years earlier. Using a screen from Tobias Harris, Embiid popped to the left corner, opposite Toronto’s bench where Kawhi hit his iconic shot.

Thanks to some miscommunication on the part of the Raptors’ defence, Embiid got a clean look. The seven-footer caught the ball, turned, and let it fly.

The crowd of nearly 20,000 fans stood and the building went silent as the ball hung in the air, just like it did in May of 2019, only this time it stayed quiet. This time, Embiid and the Sixers were the ones celebrating.

“Me and Joel talked about that,” Harris said after Philly’s 104-101 OT win. “We understand coming into this arena what happened to us last time we were here.”

It’s not a one-for-one comparison, of course. This is the first round of the playoffs, not the second. It was Game 3 instead of Game 7. And the series is not over, at least not officially.

But barring a historic comeback, the end is near for this pesky, overachieving 2021-22 Raptors club. No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 series deficit, and that’s exactly where they find themselves after a heartbreaking loss on Wednesday.

Coming home following a couple lopsided losses in Philadelphia, this was their chance to make a real mark on the series. The Raptors were hosting a playoff