Kawhi Leonard leads Toronto Raptors over Philadelphia 76ers

May 5 (UPI) -- Kawhi Leonard knocked down a clutch 3-pointer in the closing minute to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-96 on Sunday to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Leonard had 39 points, including a critical step-back 3-pointer with 1:01 left to put the Raptors up 94-90, with 14 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes. The star forward's clutch shot earned him a comparison to former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant from 76ers head coach Brett Brown.

"I think he's punishing, for sure," Brown told reporters. "When it was a one-point game with a little more than a minute, with maybe two seconds on the [shot] clock, he hits that back-breaker three. The stuff that he can get off -- and we had two people out there -- and the stuff that he can do to create his own shot is Kobe-like. He's just so gifted in relation to doing that."

Raptors center Marc Gasol had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kyle Lowry notched 14 points, seven assists and six boards as Toronto rebounded from two consecutive losses to reclaim home-court advantage.

Raptors guard Danny Green had 11 points and Serge Ibaka added 12 points in 32 minutes off the bench.

76ers star Jimmy Butler recorded 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Sharpshooter JJ Redick had 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Tobias Harris had 16 points and Ben Simmons added 10.

Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid, who scored 33 points in the 76ers' 21-point win in Game 3, struggled Sunday. He had 11 points on 2-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Toronto. The series is tied 2-2.