They went into a raucous environment in Toronto without one of their best defenders, Matisse Thybulle, and put together one of their best performances of the series. While the Sixers still had the upper hand in the series, it was clear that they were dealing with some serious pressure.īut in the end, they took care of business in convincing fashion. Rivers, who is the only coach in NBA history to blow multiple 3-1 leads, was visibly frustrated earlier in the week and tried to defend himself with a lengthy monologue. All of a sudden they had to go back to Toronto for Game 6 and all anyone wanted to talk about was their collapse last season and Doc Rivers' history of blown playoff leads. But when they got embarrassed at home in Game 5 as well, the vibes surrounding the series flipped. The Sixers losing Game 4 on the road to a Raptors team desperate to not get swept was understandable. All in all a tremendous game from Harden, and the type of performance they're going to need more of against the Heat. He was zipping the ball around the floor and even had his patented step-back 3-pointer working. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect was that he got into the paint over and over again to create for himself and others. He finished with 22 points, six rebounds and 15 assists on 7 of 12 from the field, and the Sixers were plus-38 when he was on the floor. He actually ended up taking just one more field goal, but he attacked right from the opening tip and showed exactly why the Sixers were so eager to acquire him at the trade deadline. Harden, to his credit, responded in Game 6. That's probably on Coach to talk to him and tell him to take more shots, especially if they're going to guard me the way they've been guarding. 'I've been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive and he needs to be himself,' Embiid said. In the Game 5 loss, for example, he went 3 of 11 from the field and turned the ball over five times.Įven Joel Embiid was starting to get fed up with his co-star's lack of production, and called him out in the postgame press conference. He's seemed a step slow and strangely unaggressive at times on the offensive end.

James Harden's Sixers tenure got off to a tremendous start, but has overall been a bit disappointing. Harden shows why the Sixers traded for him Maxey's ability to give the Sixers another scoring punch has been crucial all season, and he showed up again at the perfect time.Ģ. One of them was from well behind the line in transition - a shot that exemplified his supreme confidence. In particular, Tyrese Maxey caught fire from long range, hitting three 3-pointers during the run. They couldn't buy a bucket, and also couldn't stop the Sixers on the other end. The Raptors would not score again for over four minutes, and had just one basket over the next seven.

With 9:42 remaining, Pascal Siakam scored to make it 70-67 Sixers. In fact, it was a rather dull 24 minutes of basketball as the Sixers quickly built a double-digit lead that they continued to grow the rest of the way.Įverything changed for good during the middle of the third quarter when the Sixers went on a 22-3 run. The back-and-forth first half was super competitive and within seven points the entire time. Here are some key takeaways from the game: 1.

Chris Boucher was one of the few bright spots, scoring a playoff career-high 25 points. Fred VanVleet's absence was noticeable, especially in the second half when the Raptors struggled to score the ball. The Raptors put up a valiant fight in this series, but they ultimately ran out of gas against a more talented Sixers team. The Sixers shot 58 percent from the field, and all five starters scored in double figures. Joel Embiid led the way with 33 points and 10 rebounds, while James Harden registered 22 points and 15 assists in the type of performance they were hoping for from him all along. The game was not competitive the rest of the way, as the Sixers cruised to a 35-point win. 1 seed Miami Heat in the second round.Īfter an even and highly competitive first half, the Sixers broke things open in the middle of the third quarter with a 22-3 run that included a four-minute scoreless stretch for the Raptors. The Philadelphia 76ers went on the road for Game 6 and crushed the Toronto Raptors, 132-97, to take their first-round series, 4-2, and avoid another playoff collapse.

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