TORONTO — Tyrese Maxey sat atop the Scotiabank Arena scorer’s table Thursday afternoon, when Georges Niang interrupted while walking toward the crowd surrounding the Sixers’ second-year point guard.
“Come on, Tyrese. There ain’t much to say,” Niang hollered following the Sixers’ shootaround. “Win, and let’s get the hell up on out of here.”
That loose-yet-intense tone had permeated from the Sixers the past two days, following a Game 5 loss to the Raptors in their first-round playoff series that players described as “terrible” and “lackadaisical.” That translated to the court Thursday night in a dominant 132-97 victory to finally defeat Toronto 4-2 and move onto the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Miami Heat.
After taking a commanding 3-0 lead on MVP finalist Joel Embiid’s thrilling overtime game-winner last Wednesday, the Raptors won the next two to put a scare in the Sixers. But no team has ever squandered a 3-0 lead in a seven-game series, and the Sixers avoided becoming the first.
Embiid was a big reason why, finishing with 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line while looking far more comfortable playing through a torn ligament in his right thumb (and egging on the Raptors crowd that chanted “[expletive] Embiid!” late in the third quarter). Maxey added 25 points, including three 3-pointers in less than three minutes of game time to help the Sixers build a 23-point third-quarter advantage that eventually ballooned to a 35-point final result.
After struggling offensively in their two consecutive series losses, the Sixers shot a blistering 58% from the floor and 22 of 23 from the free-throw line Thursday night. They outscored the Raptors 37-17 in the decisive third quarter, and all five starters finished with at least 12 points.
Game 1 against the Heat is Monday night in Miami. The Sixers and Heat split their regular-season series, 2-2.
Harden sets aggressive tone
Embiid and coach Doc Rivers both called for Harden to be more aggressive following a Game 5 when he took only 11 shots. And early on, Harden delivered as part of a 22-point, 15-assist performance. He made seven of his 12 shots, and went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
He scored 10 of those points in the opening frame by constantly attacking the paint, including on an emphatic one-handed dunk after whiffing on a wide-open layup. He also made all four of his free throws and totaled five assists during that first quarter.
That did not carry over to the second frame, when he went 1 of 3 from the floor including two misses from beyond the arc.
Harden also missed his first layup in the second half, before getting past his defender and all the way to the basket about two minutes into the period. Later, his step-back 3-pointer gave the Sixers a 92-70 lead with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter. Another step-back long ball — which drew a technical on Rivers for arguing for a foul call and four-point play opportunity — gave the Sixers a 104-81 lead with less than 10 minutes to play.
Rotation tweaks
When Paul Reed walked from the bench to the scorer’s table about midway through the first quarter, it signaled several tweaks to Rivers’ rotations.
Reed and Niang were the first subs, replacing Embiid and Green. Furkan Korkmaz got meaningful minutes for the first time in this series, replacing Harris. The Sixers finished the first quarter and started the second with Maxey, Milton, Korkmaz, Niang and Embiid, before Harris and Green quickly re-entered.
Reed also played a two-minute stretch in the second, giving Embiid a mid-quarter break. Niang finished the first half with the starters after Harris picked up his third foul with about three minutes to play.
Rivers followed a similar pattern in the third quarter, inserting Reed for Embiid with about five minutes to play before Niang entered for Harris late in the period. Reed and Embiid even played two defensive possessions together late in the third quarter.
Niang totaled six points and four rebounds in 21 minutes, but no other Sixers bench player amassed more than 12 minutes. Conversely, the Raptors bench was fueled by Chris Boucher’s 25 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes, while Game 5 star Precious Achiuwa was limited to three points on 1-of-7 shooting and Thaddeus Young was also held scoreless in 21 minutes.
Green, Sixers sharp from deep
Green was an appropriate spokesperson heading into Game 6, as a three-time champion who understands the magnitude of the moment and winning big games in Toronto.
He carried that to his play Thursday night, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and five rebounds to build off a strong Game 5 performance. Green went 4 of 6 from deep in the first half — one miss was a desperation heave at the second quarter buzzer — by feasting when the Raptors left him open in the corner.
Green and Maxey spearheaded the Sixers’ 16-of-40 3-point shooting effort. The Raptors, meanwhile, connected on just 7 of 35 their attempts from long range.
