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SPORTS Saturday 4 May 2019
Joel Embiid, 76ers rout Raptors to take 2-1 series lead

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel on his own.
Embiid had knocked the air "They did a great job scor-
out of Toronto by the time ing. We didn't," Leonard
he punctuated a Game said.
3 victory with a wind- Leonard scored 33 points,
mill dunk. Embiid sprinted and Siakam added 20.
down the court with his "I think we got outplayed
arms stretched out like air- in just about every area
plane wings, and the Phila- we can get outplayed,"
delphia 76ers flying high in Raptors coach Nick Nurse
the postseason. said. "It's been a while since
Embiid refused to get we've seen this team play
tripped up back in Philly, that way."
scoring 33 points and play- The Sixers split the two
ing to the "MVP!" chants to games in Toronto after a
lead the Sixers to a 116-95 losing streak in the Canadi-
victory over Toronto Rap- an city that dated to 2012.
tors on Thursday night. They returned home to a
Philadelphia took a 2-1 delirious crowd amped for
lead in the Eastern Confer- one of the most crucial
ence semifinal series. games of the Process era.
"When I have fun, my game Embiid wore a black Pro-
just changes," Embiid said. cess hoodie to the post-
"I'm always told if I don't game press conference.
smile during the game it "We've got a lot more to
means I'm having a bad give and do something
game or I'm not into it. I Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid goes up for the dunk as Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry watches dur- special," Embiid said.
know to get my game go- ing the second half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Thursday, May 2, Embiid, who missed a
ing, I've got to have fun on 2019, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 116-95. game against New Jer-
the court." Associated Press sey in the last series with a
Embiid also had 10 re- sore left knee, averaged
bounds, shaking off a pair stuck out his right leg and went 9 of 18 from the floor Simmons in the third to lead only 14 points and shot 28
of passive games and be- sent Philly's All-Star tumbling and made 12 of 13 free Toronto's charge back into percent (7 of 25) from the
came the driving force on to the court. The crowd throws. the game. The Raptors ran floor in the first two games
offense the Sixers needed went wild and Siakam was It was moments like this Simmons through screens to and was tied up by Marc
as they chase their first NBA hit with a flagrant foul. Em- why the 76ers endured give Leonard the space he Gasol in frustrating fashion.
championship since 1983. biid made both free throws the painful Process — the needed to create and bury Not in Game 3. Embiid bur-
He made the game his own as fans — including some years of tanking seasons for open jumpers. And when ied a 3 and followed with a
in the third quarter and of Philadelphia's biggest high draft picks, like in 2014 there was no space, Leon- sweet spin move on Gasol
helped the Sixers put away sports stars — serenaded when they drafted Embiid ard simply bullied his way the next time down that
a Raptors team badly over- him with chants of "MVP! with the No. 3 overall pick. to the basket. He shoved got the Sixers rolling. The
matched outside of Kawhi MVP!" Hall of Famer Allen Iverson a right elbow into James franchise center's sweet-
Leonard. Jimmy Butler, the Game 2 and rapper Meek Mill en- Ennis III and spun around est play came when he
Embiid struck a chord standout, dunked off his gaged in a lengthy em- him for a two-handed jam. blocked Leonard's layup in
when he buried a 3 in the own steal and the Sixers brace from the courtside Leonard made all six bas- the lane, hustled back and
third that stretched Phila- had quickly put the game seats as the Sixers moved kets and scored 14 points got the ball in his hands,
delphia's lead to 12. That out of reach. Butler had 22 two wins away from their in the quarter to cut the and connected with Tobias
was start of a string of plays points. Eastern Conference final deficit to eight points. Kyle Harris in the corner for a 3.
that got Toronto's atten- Embiid scored another la- appearance since 2001. Lowry and Danny Green Embiid scored 18 points in
tion. Embiid chased a loose yup and waved his arms The Sixers just had to survive offered little help (20 com- the half and pushed the
ball and was tripped when and pointed with a smile as Leonard. bined points) and Leonard Sixers to a 64-53 lead at the
Pascal Siakam intentionally wide as the hoop. Embiid Leonard toyed with Ben couldn't carry the Raptors break.q
SailGP makes U.S. debut on San Francisco Bay in F50 catamarans

By BERNIE WILSON catamarans known as F50s "That was a close call," Aus- acle Team USA win the in Sydney in mid-February.
AP Sports Writer will be Saturday and Sun- sie skipper and helmsman America's Cup on San Fran- Great Britain, China, France
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The day on a course between Tom Slingsby said about cisco Bay in 2013, said he and the United States
fledgling SailGP global the Golden Gate Bridge going into a "death angle" thinks one of the teams will rounded out the standings.
league makes its U.S. de- and Alcatraz Island. If rac- before recovering. "We break 50 knots, if there's the "I love being in San Francis-
but this weekend on San ing is anything like practice were very fortunate we right combination of wind co," said Riley Gibbs, who
Francisco Bay, where the sessions, it could be a wild didn't capsize. Otherwise and flat water. controls the wingsail for the
young American team, weekend. the boat would be in the "We sort of had a crack U.S. team. "It's one of the
which includes two aspiring A few days after the Aus- shed and we'd be racing at it that one day. We got most challenging places in
Olympians from Southern tralians almost became the to have it ready in time. very close, and now we've the world to sail with sort of
California, hopes to move first of the six SailGP crews to Fortunately now we're in fi- shifted our focus away from a natural arena and cur-
up in the standings while hit 50 knots (57.5 mph), they nal preparation mode. The that and basically want to rents that are so strong and
the veteran Australian almost capsized. The same worklist is a lot less than it do well in overall results." intense. Obviously it's pret-
crew looks to stay atop the day, the Chinese boat could have been." Slingsby led the Aussies to ty cold up here and the
leaderboard. nose-dived into the waves Slingsby, an Olympic gold victory over Japan in the fi- breeze can pipe up and
Racing in fast, foiling 50-foot and its wingsail buckled. medalist who helped Or- nal of the inaugural regatta be pretty brutal at times."q