Raptors stars Siakam, VanVleet struggled in Game 3

Two of the best things going for the Toronto Raptors this season were the exact opposite on Wednesday.

TORONTO – Two of the best things going for the Toronto Raptors this season were the exact opposite on Wednesday.

Pascal Siakam, a potential All-NBA candidate, and Fred VanVleet, the Raptors’ lone all-star this season, both struggled during Toronto’s 104-101 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

They each finished with only 12 points. Siakam didn’t score a single point in the entire second half and overtime and only attempted five field-goal attempts in those three periods — he took just one shot in overtime — while VanVleet was ineffective from the field the whole game, going 3-for-13 from the floor.

This lack of production from Toronto’s two stars is a key reason why the club is in a 3-0 hole, a deficit that no team in NBA history has ever come back from.

According to the Raptors, however, the blame can’t be put on Siakam and VanVleet as they adapted to what was thrown their way.

“He didn’t get a lot of great looks,” Nurse said Wednesday night of Siakam’s scoreless second half. “He had a few, but I didn’t think he got a lot of great looks but, again, you’ve got to adjust to what the coverages are and I thought both he and Freddy did that. They got the ball around to some of the other guys and the other guys were beneficiaries of that.”

Added VanVleet of his teammate’s second-half performance: “You’ve got to really break down the entire game: (OG Anunoby’s) getting a lot of space and opportunity. Gary (Trent Jr.), was great to have him back, he’s getting a lot of space and opportunity.

“So at this point of the year, Pascal is doing his job. He’s drawing a crowd. He’s going to get all the defensive attention. So he didn’t have an excellent shooting night, but I thought he was still aggressive, getting to his spots and kicking out and bringing enough attention.”