PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers once led this first-round series with the Toronto Raptors, 3-0. Now, they have to head back to Toronto for Game 6 after the Raptors upset them in Game 5 on Monday.
No team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. Only three have forced a Game 7. The Raptors now feel confident they can upset the Sixers in this series.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen is we’ve generated really good shots most of the series,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse before the Game 5 win. “We haven’t shot very well yet, and I told the guys, ‘Today would be a good day to go ahead and start making some of those open shots.’”
The Raptors answered the call. They knocked down 51.2% of their shots on Monday despite playing without All-Star guard Fred VanVleet. That should give Toronto more confidence as it returns north of the border for a Game 6 on Thursday.
“These guys, from Day 1 when I got here, they seem like a great group of guys who are very poised,” Thaddeus Young told reporters after the game. “We have a really good coaching staff. We have a really good staff that puts game plans together and our job is to go out there and execute the game plan to the best of our ability. That’s what we all do.”
Heading into this series, the Raptors knew the Sixers had more talent, but they play extremely hard and they fly around on defense. That gives Philadelphia trouble every night. Now, the Sixers must dig deep on the road to get it done.
“We go out there and play as hard as we can,” Young added. “Everybody listens to each other. No one man is bigger than the team and that’s why we’re able to go out there and win basketball games. We’re able to get ourselves back into this series and continue to fight each and every night.”
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