Allen Iverson scored 52 against the Raptors in a playoff game on this date in 2001

Allen Iverson led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 121-88 home victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 5. The victory gave them a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. (Toronto Raptors Schedule)

He finished with 52 points, seven assists and four steals. He was very efficient, going 21-32 on field goal attempts, including 8-14 on 3-pointers. He helped them take a 33-12 lead after the first quarter and the Sixers never looked back.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/X6o5TfSCnP8

Vince Carter responded by scoring 39 points in Game 6 and the Raptors forced a Game 7. In Game 7, the Sixers bounced back, winning 88-87.

In the NBA Finals, Iverson was once again outstanding but Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led the Los Angeles Lakers to their second consecutive title.

Iverson averaged 32.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game in 22 postseason games in 2001.

Landry Fields’ response to Raptors’ $18M offer: ‘Did you say 8 or 18?’

Both the Raptors and Knicks pursued Steve Nash in 2012. Toronto had cap space. New York didn’t, needing to orchestrate a sign-and-trade with Nash and the Suns.

So, the Raptors carried out a bold plan outsmarted themselves. (Toronto Raptors Schedule)

Knicks restricted free agent Landry Fields would’ve been a logical part of a sign-and-trade. To preempt that and maximize its chances of landing Nash, Toronto – through agent Chris Emens – offered Fields a three-year, $18.75 million contract.

Fields, via Blake Murphy of The Athletic:

“Wait, did you say eight or 18?” Fields remembers asking.

Emens had said 18. The Raptors were submitting an offer sheet for three years and $18.8 million.

“That number was way beyond what we would have thought would be a home run for me in free agency,” Fields said. “Eight would have been like, ‘OK, cool. I’m good.’ But that, for me, was an absolute home run.”

For perspective, Fields’ annual salary – based on percentage of the salary cap – would’ve been $11,751,861 this season.

The Knicks didn’t match. They didn’t get Nash, either. He joined the Lakers for a couple disappointing seasons to end his career.

The Raptors figured, in this worst-case scenario, they’d still have a helpful – albeit, overpaid – role player in Fields. But like many things in this story, that also went wrong. Fields didn’t stay healthy and really struggled (as detailed by Murphy).

At laest we get another tale of a contract offer so large, it shocked the recipient. Those are always fun.

Landry Fields’ response to Raptors’ $18M offer: ‘Did you say 8 or 18?’ originally appeared on NBCSports.com