Bismack Biyombo Joins Elite Company with 26-Rebound Performance

Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo grabbed a franchise-record 26 rebounds during Saturday's 99-84 Game 3 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (twice), Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard as the only players to record 25 or more boards in a single playoff game—since 1984—per Elias Sports Bureau (via NBA.com/stats).

Those 26 rebounds bested the previous Raptors record of 25, set earlier this season by Biyombo himself in a game against the Indiana Pacers.

The old Raptors record for single-game postseason rebounds was held by fellow center Jonas Valanciunas, who grabbed 19 rebounds in a first-round game against the Pacers a couple of weeks ago.

Interestingly, Biyombo grabbed 20 of his rebounds before he scored a single point.

Matched up against an All-World rebounder in Tristan Thompson, Biyombo and his rebounding performance helped Toronto extinguish the Cavaliers' perfect playoff record.

In fact, this effort may have been what prompted Raptors coach Dwane Casey to declare after the contest that Biyombo is the spirit of the team.

Of course, the Raptors—still in a 2-1 hole against the heavily favored Cavaliers—will need a lot more of this spirit if they wish to advance to the NBA Finals.