Toronto came up with a new load management plan for Kawhi Leonard. It was to make sure its star forward didn't have to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Leonard had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and the Raptors used a balanced attack and a huge second quarter to rout the Philadelphia 76ers 125-89 Tuesday night and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Leonard, who had scored 33 or more points in each of the first four games of the series, shot 7-for-16 from the field and 7-for-8 at the line before checking out with 7:22 to play and Toronto up 103-73.
"Tonight was one of those games where we let him rest a little bit, which is important," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. "He had a big double-double, but he didn't have to do everything offensively."
Lowry scored 19 points, while Danny Green finished with 17, Marc Gasol 11 and Serge Ibaka had 10.
"Kawhi still had a great game and the surrounding cast contributed," 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
The 36-point margin was the largest in Toronto's postseason history, and marked Philadelphia's worst playoff defeat since a 40-point loss to Boston in Game 1 of the 1982 Eastern Conference finals.
"The spirit, I thought, went away a little bit quicker than I'd wished," Brown said.
