Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid Help 76ers Blow Out Kawhi Leonard, Raptors in Game 6
Game 7 awaits in the second-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia made sure of it with a 112-101 victory in Thursday's Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center. It has been a back-and-forth series with Toronto winning the first game, Philadelphia going up 2-1 and the Raptors moving ahead 3-2, so it's only fitting it will be decided by one final battle.
All five 76ers starters scored in double figures, including Jimmy Butler (25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals), Ben Simmons (21 points, eight rebounds and six assists), Joel Embiid (17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and a plus-minus of plus-40) and Tobias Harris (16 points, nine rebounds and five assists).
Kawhi Leonard (29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists) and Pascal Siakam (21 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals) spearheaded the Raptors' effort but did not receive enough help on the road.
76ers Have Chance to End The Process Debate Once and For All
The 76ers have a golden opportunity ahead of them in Game 7. They can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001 and end the debate about The Process once and for all.
The Process was always about a struggling team accumulating assets over an extended period and eventually using those assets to become relevant in the postseason. That is exactly what Philadelphia did by drafting Embiid, drafting Simmons and using some of those assets to trade for Butler and Harris.
Still, detractors who take a results-oriented view could call it a failure if the 76ers continue to lose in the second round after going all-in. Beating a championship contender with a superstar leading the way like the Raptors on their home court in a do-or-die Game 7 would silence those critics.
Philadelphia took the first step toward doing just that Thursday when it proved Toronto's grip on the series was a mirage.
With Leonard playing some of the best basketball of his career, Embiid's health concerns, Simmons struggling and Toronto's decisive win in Game 5, this series felt as good as over entering play. All the 76ers did is respond with a blowout win of their own and set up a coin-toss Game 7 between teams that have traded impressive performances and each won on the other's home court.
The Sixers needed a fast start, and that is exactly what they got thanks to Simmons and Butler.
Butler took over with seven points in the final 80 seconds of the first half—two of which came on a steal of Leonard and layup right before the buzzer—and Simmons played with an aggressiveness that was missing in the first five games.
The point guard scored 10 or fewer points in four of the first five contests with a stunning lack of aggressiveness given his role as a go-to option and primary ball-handler. He was nothing like that Thursday, playing downhill, attacking the basket, unleashing skip passes in the half court and finding shooters off his penetration.
Simmons even drove right at Leonard to start the second half and helped end a 12-0 Raptors run in the second quarter by grabbing a rebound over Danny Green, sprinting coast to coast and finding Butler for an easy layup. It was the type of play few in the league can make and why so many envision such a bright future for the 22-year-old.
He wasn't the only building block who emerged from The Process to turn in a critical bounce-back performance.
Embiid has dealt with illness and knee issues throughout the series and shot an ugly 37 percent from the field in the first five games. It looked to be more of the same when he struggled from the field at the start, but he proved his value beyond scoring with rim protection, a willingness to battle on the boards and far more athleticism than backup Boban Marjanovic brought in his limited minutes.
The result was a stunning plus-minus number that only improved when the big man started scoring as the game continued.
All the assets were on full display in Thursday's convincing victory.
Simmons was dunking and attacking, Embiid was firing up the crowd and blocking Leonard at the rim, and Butler went into takeover mode on both ends of the floor for extended stretches. It was surely exactly what the Sixers' front office envisioned, even in the face of constant criticism as the losses piled up during the rebuilding days.
Philadelphia has been both ripped and praised for its roster construction on almost a daily basis over the past few years. This is the moment The Process has been building toward, and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance is there for the taking.
The version of the 76ers who took the court Thursday is talented enough to beat the Raptors in Toronto. It is also talented enough to end any lingering debate about whether The Process was a success.
What's Next?
The series returns to Toronto for Sunday's Game 7.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
