NBA Playoffs 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers - Game 6
After Toronto took the first game of the series, the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back to win the next two, which was followed by the Raptors dominating in Games 4 & 5. When the Raptors arrived in Philadelphia with a 3-2 series lead, the Sixers faced elimination from the postseason at home court. What transpired in Game 6 was nothing short of an extremely resilient performance from the hosts as they bagged a convincing 112-101 win and forced a deciding Game 7.
Between Joel Embiid's lingering illness and Kawhi Leonard's brilliant playoff form, the Raptors-Sixers matchup has incorporated all sorts of drama meshed with quality basketball.
The Raptors finished their regular season with a solid 58-24(0.707) record while the Sixers ended with 51-31(0.622), nine games behind Toronto on the East leaderboard. Being a clash between the second and third seed of the Eastern Conference, it has proven to be as tight as it could possibly have been.
Let's draw out some prominent takeaways from this hardy showing by the Sixers in an elimination game.
#1 Jimmy Butler stepped up to the challenge; All five Philly starters score in double digits.
Jimmy Butler played 35 minutes in the ball-game and on an efficient 9-of-18(50%) shooting night, dropped a team-high total of 25 points. Along with an impressive scoring show, Butler chipped in 6 rebounds, 8 assistsa and a couple of steals as well on the defensive end of the floor.
"I play to win," Butler said. "Right now, this is what I have to do in order to give us a great chance at winning."
According to Sixers stats,
Butler has scored 20-plus points in five straight games, dating back to April 29. The five-game streak ties a playoff career high. The last 76er with a five-game streak in a single postseason was Allen Iverson in 2003.
When asked about Jimmy's performance, Coach Brown had nothing but praise,
"He was all over that game," coach Brett Brown said. "The mood in the locker room, you could sense the serious side. They got the moment and I think he got it as much as anybody and led us."
Joel Embiid finished with a characteristic double-double as all starters contrbuted at least 11 points to the Sixers' winning cause.