The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 112-101 at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, forcing a do-or-die Game 7 in the teams' tightly-contested second-round series.
After struggling mightily offensively in back-to-back losses, Brett Brown's team put together one of its finest offensive performance of the playoffs with the season on the brink. The Sixers posted a 114.4 offensive rating and assisted on 65.9 percent of their baskets. They had 56 points in the paint, 16 fast break points, and 18 second-chance points. Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Tobias Harris all scored at least 16 points, while J.J. Redick and Mike Scott also reached double-figures.
After the game, though, it wasn't offense that Butler singled out as the driving force behind his team's performance. Butler, who was brilliant on both ends en route to 25 points, six rebounds, eights assists, and two steals, believes it was Philadelphia's defense that set the tone.
“More than anything, I just think tonight we let our defense start us out and dictate our offense,” he said on NBA TV. “I always say whenever we play like that we're hard to beat – at home on the road, neutral site. That's how we have to play basketball.”
Butler wasn't lying.
The Sixers were flying all over the floor in Game 6, denying the ball on the perimeter, jumping passing lanes for deflections, and almost always maintaining the defensive string. As a result, Toronto shot just 9-of-36 from beyond the arc and no player other Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam scored more than 13 points. If not for a late run by the Raptors' bench when the game was already decided, the team's collective numbers would be even worse.
Cleary, Philadelphia amped up its defensive intensity on Thursday. Will that renewed commitment to defense carry over to Game 7? We'll find out on Sunday.
Follow Us
Subscribe