No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Fortunately for the Toronto Raptors, their 110-102 win over their Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 provided a glimmer of hope.

Thirteen NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has blown three of those 3-1 leads, one in 2003 with the Orlando Magic, and two while coach of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2015 and 2020.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse knows the history behind his team's deficit and believes they're up to the challenge, that continues Monday night in Philadelphia for Game 5. 

“It's a heckuva challenge. Well, somebody’s got to do it,” Nurse said about the 3-0 deficit. “And if it gets to 3-1, it’s not 3-0 any more. And 3-1 has been done.”

The Raptors have another advantage moving forward in the series, as 76ers star Joel Embiid is playing through a torn ligament in his right thumb that will require surgery after the season. Broadcaster Jack Armstrong made it clear that the Raptors need to take advantage of the MVP candidate not being at 100 per cent. 

"Everyone is hurt this time of year. Everyone is trying to play through something," Armstrong said on SC with Jay Onrait. "The 76ers showed no mercy when Scottie Barnes and Fred Vanvleet got hurt. This is a ruthless business.

"If you're the Raptors, every time Joel Embiid gets that ball in the post, you slap that finger as hard as you possibly can. If you're going to foul him, foul him hard. This is the playoffs."

"I think Joel Embiid understand that as well," Armstrong said. "He's coming full force at you and you have to go full force at him before he even gets to you."

After Game 2, Embiid said he told Nurse to 'respectfully, stop b----ing about calls'. But following Game 4, the 28-year-old was seen mockingly applauding referee Ed Malloy and had his own words for the officiating crew when asked if he thought they were trying to guarantee a Game 5.

"I don't know....but you can figure it out."

A key piece of the Raptors Game 4 win was the play of Pascal Siakam, who bounced back from a poor Game 3 performance to score a playoff-career best 34 points. 

"Resilience. He's always been a resilient player," teammate Thaddeus Young said about Siakam. "He’s always gonna fight through adversity. He knows his game. He knows how to bounce back and come back from having not-so-good games. That's what he did."

If the Raptors are to extend the series past Game 5, they will need to do so without point guard Fred VanVleet, who is out with hip flexor strain that forced him to leave in the first half of Game 4. He averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game this season.

NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes returned from an ankle injury in the Game 4 victory and gave the team the lift it needed to extend the series.

“He helps us in every way you could think of – offensively, [in the] locker room, screaming at everybody ‘let’s go’, his energy,” Gary Trent Jr. said following the 110-102 win. “Whether he’s playing, whether he’s not playing, you can feel him, you know he’s there.”

“He’s a special basketball player,” said Young. “Some of the things he’s able to do at his size and his ability is going to keep him in this league for a long, long time.”

“The stuff he brings to the game, the intangibles that he has, the ability that he has, he’s a very special player. He’s well deserving of that trophy.”

76ers shooting guard Matisse Thybulle will return to the Philadelphia lineup for Game 5 after being ineligible to enter Canada due to not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

If the Raptors pull out a win in Philadelphia, the series would come back to Toronto for Game 6 on Thursday.