7:42 p.m. ET
Tim Bontemps ESPN
TORONTO — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid believes he’ll be able to weather his right thumb sprain by the end of the playoffs and says if a ligament tear occurs, he expects to delay any type of surgery until the offseason .
“I want to play, so of course I have to listen to what they have to say,” Embiid said Saturday after the 76ers were on the wrong end of a 110-102 decision against the Raptors in Game 4 of their first-round series. “So, I would imagine that I’ll keep playing and probably do something after the season.”
Embiid, who sustained a thumb sprain in the first half of Game 3, finished Game 4 with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes. He went 7-on-16 from the field and 7-on-9 from the foul line. He wore a bandage on his right (shooting) thumb during the game and had the same brace on his hand that he had after Game 3 and for practice on Friday.
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ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that an initial exam of the thumb showed a torn ligament, but that an MRI, which Embiid said would be performed Sunday, was needed to confirm.
Embiid said the injury was painful and joked that “basketball involves a lot of manual work” when asked if it was affecting his game on the court.
When asked what particularly bothers him, he said it affected his rebound. Embiid’s eight rebounds were the fewest in a game since beating Dallas on Jan. 18 — a span of 14 games.
“I would say it was more, you know, when it comes to rebounds, free throws and passes,” Embiid said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s whatever. But the bigger story is that we lost the game, we couldn’t finish it. And we have to do a better job.”
The 76ers failed to end the streak because the Raptors maintained their style of play throughout most of Game 3, in which they led the vast majority before Embiid’s last-second shot in overtime stole a win for Philadelphia. And Toronto was able to keep playing despite losing all-star guard Fred VanVleet to a left hip strain in the second quarter.
VanVleet tore his jersey in half in frustration when he was sent off in the second quarter with 4:57 left and was later ruled out. The Raptors point guard had more shots taken of his hip Saturday night to determine his availability going forward.
“I think he probably knew pretty well it hurt enough that he left the game,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. “First off, as you all know he’s been banged around pretty well this year and he continues to lace ’em up and go out and play big minutes every night. So there’s a lot to it. Not every guy in the league does that.
“And when you’re struggling through one thing and suddenly you get another that feels as painful as it looked to him, then it’s frustrating. He’s going to be going through a lot of hits and bruises and bumps and he won’t be healthy and I’m sure he just wanted to play so I’m sure he was frustrated.”
The Raptors made up for VanVleet’s absence in part with the return of Scottie Barnes, who was named NBA Rookie of the Year on Saturday. Barnes returned after missing the previous two games with a sprained left ankle.
Barnes, who came on as an initial substitute, replaced VanVleet as the team’s starting point guard in the second half. While going 1-for-6 off the field, he finished with 11 rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in addition to six points.
“Just try and bring that defensive effort,” Barnes said when asked about his mindset in Game 4. “Get on the floor and try to get us into some other things, some things.
“Just having that presence trying to be a leader out there on the ground, that’s really what I’m trying to do. I’m not really trying to do that much, just bring that presence.”
The Raptors, like they did here in Game 3, continued to give Philadelphia seizures the way they were meant to come into the series. Toronto forced the 76ers to 16 turnovers — which turned into 22 Raptors points — and snagged 13 offensive rebounds, resulting in 12 second-chance points and eight more shot attempts.
That, along with Toronto shooting more free throws than Philadelphia (35-25) for the first time in the series, and great performances from Pascal Siakam (34 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Gary Trent Jr. (24 points), was enough for the Raptors to get on the board in the series.
And while the 76ers said they weren’t playing with enough energy and effort and needed to get better in Game 5, Embiid had his own message for the officiating crew of Scott Foster, Ed Malloy and Rodney Mott when he hit them with an extended golf shot on the way from the court.
“Well, I’ll take my own advice and not complain about fouls,” Embiid said. “But like I did at the end of the game [with the clapping], they did a great job. I admire the work they did today. To me it felt like they had a job here tonight and they got it done. Well, congratulations to her.”
When asked if that “job” was to make sure there was a Game 5, Embiid said, “I don’t know. … But you can find out. But they did a great job.
“Like I said, I’ll take my own advice and not complain about it. I think in the next game, if they don’t name it, I’ll be even more aggressive offensively and defensively. If they wanna give them fouls or if they wanna call really no fouls, I really gotta make them deserve it and be really physical.
Embiid admitted he was still unsure what happened in Game 3 to cause the injury. It’s just the latest in a string of random injuries Embiid has suffered throughout his career — and particularly in the playoffs.
But when asked if he was frustrated at having to deal with injury again at the most important time of the year, Embiid said he was just focusing on what he could control when he went on the pitch.
“It’s whatever,” Embiid said. “I am catholic. God…I always put it in his hands. So when I go out, I don’t focus on what can or will happen?
“I just go out there and hope for the best and trust, trust [my teammates]. So this series wasn’t… I mean nobody knows [this], but I was really sick for the first two games. But you know, I fought my way through.
“It’s the playoffs. Nothing will stop me So I just have to keep going and hope for the best.”