PHILADELPHIA — The plan used to be to make the Philadelphia 76ers apprehensive. To make the town of Philadelphia apprehensive.
To position sufficient drive on its under-achieving basketball staff as voiced via a fan base confused via unfulfilled expectancies that the burden could be an excessive amount of.
Would the Sixers bend beneath it? Would they stagger sufficient that the Toronto Raptors may stay their dream alive of changing into the primary staff to return again from down 0-3 in a playoff sequence and to present Philadelphia its final sports activities nightmare?
There used to be just one technique to to find out: The Raptors had to win Recreation 5.
The Raptors did it, totally and convincingly as they smothered the Sixers in nearly each and every side of the sport of their genuinely-earned 103-88 win on Monday. Within the procedure they woke up the Philadelphia boo birds and put the lengthy, chilly, creeping shadow of doubt within the minds in their more and more fragile seeming fighters.
No person in NBA historical past has misplaced a seven-game sequence after sweeping the primary 3 video games, now not in 143 tries. The Raptors have very a lot put that at the desk. We’ll see if the Sixers fall face first into without equal humble pie.
In fact, the Raptors’ praise is solely an opportunity to do it all over the place once more because the sequence shifts again to Toronto for Recreation 6 on Thursday. However the point of interest turns squarely onto the Sixers, who pulled out all of the stops for a identify run with their mid-season acquisition of James Harden and on the very least have hit an surprising velocity bump . If the Raptors can stay pushing, the Sixers are liable to going to Recreation 7 with the basketball international gazing to peer in the event that they’ll faucet out in an all-time NBA choke task.
The thrill is simply beginning, in different phrases.
The Raptors have been led via Pascal Siakam, who took over level guard tasks within the absence of Fred VanVleet. The All-Superstar is most probably out for the sequence with a hip damage sustained in Recreation 4.
Siakam scored 23 issues and added 10 rebounds and 7 assists in 44 secure mins. Time and time once more, he beat whomever the Sixers installed entrance of him off the dribble, scoring on the rim or developing excellent seems for teammates towards a rotating defence. Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby and Treasured Achiuwa joined Siakam in double figures with 12, 16, 16 and 17 issues, respectively, in a well-rounded assault.
However the true famous person used to be the Raptors’ staff defence. With VanVleet, out the smallest participant to hit the ground used to be six-foot-five Trent Jr. and trainer Nick Nurse went for lengthy stretches with lineups the place everybody at the flooring used to be six-foot-eight (and nobody used to be taller than 6-foot-9). The end result used to be numerous crowds of lengthy fingers for Joel Embiid and James Harden to handle and the velocity and duration to rotate out to shooters.
The Sixers shot simply 39 in keeping with cent from the ground and coughed up 16 turnovers, main to twenty Raptors issues.
Embiid counted simply 20 issues within the face of continuous double- and triple-teams whilst Harden used to be a max contract non-factor, counting simply 15 issues and 7 assists in 40 mins.
And Toronto were given a substantial help from the Sixers crowd, which has no drawback consuming its personal. On consecutive possessions early within the fourth quarter, Barnes dribbled the duration of the ground in large part unimpeded after which hit teammates — first Thad Younger, then Achiuwa — for undefended alley-oops to position Toronto up 13 and Sixers enthusiasts started to boo.
When Embiid picked up his 5th foul halfway during the fourth quarter, the nerves drew tighter nonetheless. When Anunoby knocked down a pull-up 3 to stay Toronto’s lead at double figures with 3:52 to play, the apprehensive murmurings of 20,000 other folks were given louder once more. And when Trent Jr. stepped right into a wide-open triple to position Toronto up 15 with 3:20 left, they began to depart. In the end, when Anunoby drove the lane unimpeded for a dunk with 2:18 left, it used to be over.
The sequence, now at 3-2, is simply getting began.
As an added problem, the Raptors were given it executed with out the advantage of any contributions from VanVleet, who used to be dominated out after leaving the ground early in the second one quarter of Recreation 4 with a strained hip flexor.
VanVleet stated he used to be leaving the window open on a go back for Recreation 6 on Thursday if it got here to that, however made it sound just like the Raptors must make it to the second one spherical for him to realistically take the court docket once more this season.
“I’ll take the positives clear of the location,” stated VanVleet, whose True Capturing proportion went from 57 in keeping with cent earlier than the all-star spoil to 47 in keeping with cent afterwards as he battled a lot of accidents. “There’s one thing satisfying about simply laying it at the line in your teammates, in your brothers within the locker room, realizing you’re now not 100. [But] my frame after all simply tapped out. Right here we’re.”
The Raptors knew they weren’t going to head anyplace and not using a sturdy get started and to their credit score they were given the beginning they sought after. Via the halfway level of the primary quarter, all 5 starters had scored and the Sixers had dedicated 5 turnovers. Barnes used to be taking a look way more assured transferring on his sore left ankle and the Raptors led 20-14.
However the Sixers do have Embiid and injured thumb or no, it used to be transparent he used to be made up our minds to make an affect. Now not that the Raptors didn’t have plans for him. Embiid has averaged 11 turnovers a sport over his ultimate 3 begins and the Raptors have been hoping to deal with that development.
“It is no secret that we are sending numerous other folks and numerous schemes at him as a result of we need to, he is that excellent and he is that massive and he is that sturdy, and if he will get transferring, it is onerous for us not to stay him off the free-throw line,” stated Nurse. “So I’m hoping we will flip him over somewhat bit this night. I am not depending on it. However I’m hoping we will simply make it a troublesome, although it is 30 or no matter it finally ends up being, I’m hoping it is truly hard earned that he has to truly, truly paintings to get them.”
Embiid used to be keen to position within the effort after the Raptors fast get started’ as he went on a snappy 6-0 run to tug the Sixers inside some degree. The Raptors additionally harm themselves when Achiuwa and Barnes couldn’t kind out who must clutch a wide-open defensive rebound and as an alternative volleyed the ball into their very own hoop. However even with that, Toronto were given what they wanted: a favorable get started in a sport without a margin for error because the guests took a 29-27 lead into the second one quarter.
The following essential query used to be what would occur within the mins when Embiid went to the bench. Within the first two video games in Philly it were the Tyrese Maxey display and Philadelphia had prolonged leads in Embiid’s absence.
However on Monday the Raptors upped the drive, with Trent Jr. and Barnes doing a excellent task making lifestyles tricky at the second-year Sixers guard. Toronto jumped out to a snappy 8-0 spurt with within the 5 mins Embiid sat to push the Raptors’ result in 10 on its technique to 14. The Sixers trimmed that to 6 because of a triple via Danny Inexperienced and a three-point play via Embiid.
However after a well-timed timeout, the Raptors after all started to money in on one of the crucial open seems from 3 they’d been misfiring on as Anunoby and Achiuwa each knocked down triples with Siakam racking up assists on Anunoby’s 3.
By the point the horn sounded for halftime, the Raptors led 54-41 and it’s essential to sense the uneasiness some of the enthusiasts at Wells Fargo Heart, the place collapses via this era of Sixers groups were baked into their expectancies.
The drive used to be mounting. It were given became up once more on the finish of the 3rd quarter. The Raptors attempted to chop deeply into what used to be a relatively secure double-digit lead however saved getting became again via the scale and cast play of Toronto’s defence that held the Sixers to 39 in keeping with cent capturing to that time whilst producing 14 issues off 12 Philly turnovers. Embiid and Harden have been being moderately nicely contained and not one of the Sixers position gamers were ready to shake free meaningfully. In the meantime, the Raptors have been discovering luck attacking Embiid off the jump with Anunoby, Siakam and Achiuwa every making the Sixers famous person pay.
Issues have been going to devise, for the Raptors no less than.
For the Sixers? Issues are going off the rails.
