Well, this little bit of friendly fire sure looked like it hurt a bit. OK, probably a lot. Raptors star Kawhi Leonard knocked his teammate, forward Serge Ibaka, briefly out of Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers when he inadvertently elbowed him in the forehead while trying to pull down a rebound in the paint. The injury happened midway through a closely played first quarter and it had Ibaka gushing blood from his forehead as he made his way back to Toronto’s locker room for more medical assistance and some stitches, according to the TNT broadcast. He returned for the start of the second quarter with a bandaid over the stitches. Check out how the painful play unfolded: Serge Ibaka heads to locker room with apparent cut on his forehead pic.twitter.com/Mag8RehYZW — Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 8, 2019 There was a bunch of blood: Serge Ibaka is bleeding … a lot. He left to the locker room after this pic.twitter.com/LT39OUGc3p — SB Nation (@SBNation) May 8, 2019 He quickly thew down a dunk in the second quarter, so all is good.<doc-sep>With the Philadelphia 76ers fighting for their playoff lives on Thursday night, Joel Embiid gave his team everything he had. On at least two occasions, Kawhi Leonard got the short end of the stick. Leonard has owned the Sixers for the majority of the first five games of their Eastern Conference playoff battle, but Embiid got some revenge in Game 6. During the game’s third quarter, after Leonard broke down his defender and made a beeline toward the basket for what appeared to be an easy finish at the rim, Embiid emphatically erased the shot and sparked a fast break for Philadelphia. The ensuing basket helped his team pushed their lead to 18 points. Embiid with the block on Kawhi leads to the Simmons finish on the break #NBAPlayoffs 🎥: @DimeUPROXX pic.twitter.com/hojurVqtNH — USA TODAY NBA (@usatodaynba) May 10, 2019 The block on Leonard followed Embiid sending Serge Ibaka’s dunk attempt back in his face during the game’s second quarter. embiid block leads to benny dunk pic.twitter.com/fl9n6P6p1e — Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) May 5, 2019 Although still obviously limited on the offensive end, Embiid’s defensive instincts were in tact. The Raptors found that out the hard way.<doc-sep>Kawhi Leonard helped the Toronto Raptors tie their playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers at 2-2 with a monstrous, 39-point, 14-rebound performance. Leonard is now averaging 38 points per game on 60% shooting in the series, something Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James never did. In a high-stakes playoff series for both teams, Leonard is proving the gamble the Raptors took in trading for him was worthwhile. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Toronto Raptors evened their second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers at 2-2 on Sunday, thanks to a heroic performance from Kawhi Leonard. Leonard scored 39 points on 13-of-20 shooting to go with 14 rebounds and 5 assists (and 7 turnovers), carrying a Raptors offense that once again struggled to do much when he wasn't involved. Unlike the Raptors' ugly Game 2 and Game 3 losses to the Sixers, Leonard did receive a bit more help from players like Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka. But even in Game 4, a virtual must-win for the Raptors to avoid going down 3-1, no other player scored more than 20 points. In the playoffs, Leonard is now averaging 32 points on 57% shooting, 50% from 3, with 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Zoom in just on the second round series and his 38 points per game on 60% shooting puts him into a category unto himself. Leonard's final points were his most crucial. With the Raptors leading by one with just over a minute to play, Leonard isolated on the perimeter on a switch with Joel Embiid. With the shot clock winding down, Ben Simmons then left Gasol to double Leonard, when Leonard rose up over Embiid and Simmons and hit a fading, 26-foot three-pointer as time expired to give the Raptors a four-point lead. The difference in the Raptors offense with and without Leonard is stark. During the playoffs, with Leonard on the floor, the Raptors have an offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 116.2, a mark that would have ranked best in the NBA during the regular season. With Leonard off the court, their offensive rating is 73.2 — 31 points worse than the league-worst New York Knicks. Though Leonard's game is more isolation-heavy than some other players, it still has primarily been the Kawhi Leonard Show on offense. In the second round, a whopping 76.4% of his field goals have been unassisted. Others in the NBA world have made comparisons to past NBA greats. "The stuff that he can do to create his own shot is Kobe-like," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. Raptors guard Norman Powell several times compared Leonard to Bryant, according to The Athletic's Eric Koreen. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry told ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz that he's only played with one other player who was unstoppable like Leonard. "Kawhi is dominant, just dominant," Lowry said. "I've only played with one other guy like that, Yao Ming, where when he got it rolling, you can't stop him. Kawhi has been doing this for a month." ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Leonard is like Michael Jordan, in that he has a chance to ruin the 76ers playoff goals single-handedly. "The closest thing to Jordan that the Philadelphia 76ers have seen," Smith said of Leonard's "level of dominance." Chris Szagola/AP He added: "Jordan has ruined a lot of careers. Guys that had championship potential in their vision, in their eyesight, and suddenly they ran into Jordan and ultimately it was squashed. Philadelphia has been fantasizing about a championship this year. Kawhi Leonard is single-handedly standing in their way." The stakes are huge for both teams. The 76ers made two big trades for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, impending free agents who can command max contracts this summer. The result of the playoffs could determine how their summer goes. The Raptors made a bold trade for Leonard last summer, knowing it could be a one-year rental. Nobody in the NBA world seems to have a real grasp on what could keep him in Toronto vs. moving closer to home to one of the Los Angeles teams in free agency this summer. Read more: The NBA playoffs have the highest stakes in years, and it could lead to a massive summer But Leonard is proving that the trade was a worthwhile gamble for Toronto, if only because they've never had a player who could carry a team like this. With the series now becoming a best-of-three and the Raptors re-gaining home-court advantage, they need two more heroic Leonard performances to advance and perhaps increase their chances of keeping him.<doc-sep>
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Toronto Raptors big man Serge Ibaka already has his hands full dealing with a Philadelphia 76ers frontcourt that includes Joel Embiid, but he apparently has to worry about elbows from his own teammates as well. Kawhi Leonard inadvertently hit Ibaka with an elbow while they were both going for a rebound during Tuesday’s Game 5, causing the big man to go to the locker room with a cut. Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted Ibaka got three stitches before he eventually returned to the court. Ibaka has largely struggled in this series, scoring in single figures in the first three games and grabbing a mere one rebound in Game 2. He has also struggled to contain Embiid when Marc Gasol has been on the bench. Still, he is a veteran leader with plenty of postseason experience, and Toronto will likely need him to emerge from the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history.