Oh, boy. Philly, the 76ers might have a problem.
Once in position to sweep the Toronto Raptors, the Sixers look like a squad in jeopardy of suffering an embarrassing first-round exit.
That’s the fallout after the Raptors prevailed, 103-88, in Monday night’s Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center to force Game 6.
The Sixers are clinging to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series after failing to beat the Raptors in two elimination games. Game 6 will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
The Sixers hope to avoid being the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 series advantage. Meanwhile, coach Doc Rivers has lost seven of his last eight elimination games.
“Honestly, we have to stay together,” forward Tobias Harris said of the Sixers’ state of mind. “Obviously, this is a tough loss for us. A game that we wanted, we really didn’t put enough effort in to go get the W.
“But we have to stick together. We have to figure out how we can gather that type of energy and be able to be at our best.”
Harris believes the Sixers just need to focus on what has worked for them this series.
Rivers isn’t concerned about his players’ mental state after taking a 3-0 advantage followed by two games where the Raptors outplayed them.
“I don’t know if I worry about it,” he said. “I know there’s a gear we have that we haven’t used over the last couple of games. And going there [to Toronto], it’s going to be a lively atmosphere. I think that will be great for us in a crazy way. I think we’ll be ready for that.”
On Monday, the Raptors were without All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet, who is sidelined with a left hip flexor strain.
But they didn’t need him on this night while shooting 51.2% from the field. The quality of the shot attempts the Raptors got in the first four games gave coach Nick Nurse confidence heading into Monday.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen is that we’ve generated really good shots most of the series,” he said before the game. “And we haven’t shot very well yet. I told the guys today, today would be a good day to go and start making some of those shots.”
» READ MORE: Has there been dirty play in the Sixers-Raptors series? Both sides seem to think so.
He just didn’t know how they would create those shots with VanVleet sidelined. As it turned out, the Raptors generated them with a team effort. Five of the eight players in their rotation — before the teams emptied their benches — scored in double-digits. Pascal Siakam had his second straight solid game, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
“They got everything they wanted,” Rivers said. “Not only did they get it, they used 23 seconds damn near every possession . So they turned the game into a slow-paced slugfest. But whenever they could run, they did run.
“So they got both. They beat us in transition. When they didn’t have transition, they backed it out, used the clock, got the iso they wanted and scored on us.”
The Sixers, meanwhile, made just 38.3% of their shots. James Harden struggled on this night. The perennial All-NBA guard finished with 15 points, seven assists, and five turnovers. However, his point total was a bit misleading as Harden had made just 2 of 9 shots and had nine points before making his final two shots.
“We have to get James going downhill in some more actions that he likes and more comfortable,” Rivers said.
Joel Embiid had 20 points and 11 rebounds — with 13 of his points coming with the first half.
Embiid looked more comfortable early on with his injured right thumb than in Game 4.
He finished the first quarter with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting while making all four of his foul shots. Embiid also had five rebounds.
Back in Game 4, he finished the first quarter with one point while making 1 of 2 foul shots and going 0-for-5 from the field. He had two rebounds.
However, his aggressiveness tailed off as Monday’s game progressed. For the game, he shot 7-of-15 and made all six of his free throws. Embiid also committed four turnovers. He wasn’t able to get deep catches in the second half.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is fined $15,000 for criticizing the officials after the Sixers’ Game 4 loss to the Toronto Raptors
“We weren’t getting stops,” Embiid said. “In the first half, we were able to get stops and running the floor and just ducking in early before they could double.
“And in the second half, they just kept scoring and scoring and scoring, and we kept playing against a set defense. Obviously, they just doubled me just like last game.”
However, Embiid kept thinking about his thumb with the torn ligament.
There was one point in the second quarter when he was hesitant to go after the loose ball he clearly could had gotten.
“I’m in a situation where I try to protect it,” he said of his thumb. “So before I even attack or before I get the ball, it’s almost like I’m not playing freely. I’m like if I do this, I might get hit or I might get hurt.
“So I think mentally I just have to get out of that. I guess hope for the best, be myself and not think about which move can put me in a bad position to get hit or get hurt even more. So I’ll work on it.”
VanVleet said the hip has been bothering him “off and on” this season. He also suffered the injury “the year before.” Back then, he was able to get through it. This time, the injury was worse.
VanVleet suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday’s Game 4 and didn’t return after leaving the court in the second quarter.
This has been a rough year for him.
He missed the final three games of the regular season because of a knee injury that affected him in the second half of the season. The injuries have impacted his play this series. VanVleet is averaging just 13.8 points and 35.2% shooting after averaging a career-best 20.3 points this season.
The boos from the home crowd were in full force by the time Rivers called a timeout with 7 minutes, 14 seconds before intermission. That’s because the Raptors opened the second quarter on a 12-0 run and led 41-27 at that point. The Sixers were shooting 0-9 in the quarter.
Danny Green buried a three-pointer after the timeout to halt the Raptors’ run. Then on their next possession, Embiid converted a three-point play to pull the Sixers within eight points (41-33). A couple of possessions later, Harris scored a transition basket during the Sixers’ 8-0 run.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is fined $15,000 for criticizing the officials after the Sixers’ Game 4 loss to the Toronto Raptors
But they could not sustain their comeback effort. They regressed back to the mean, missing shots as the Raptors closed out the half on a 13-6 run to take a 54-41 cushion.
The Sixers shot 5-for-22 from the field in the quarter and were booed at the conclusion of the half. The three-point play marked Embiid’s only points of the quarter. Toronto held onto a 77-66 cushion after three quarters.
