NBA Playoffs 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers

After Toronto took the first game of the series, the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back to win the next two, which was followed by the Raptors dominating in Games 4 & 5. When the Raptors arrived in Philadelphia with a 3-2 series lead, the Sixers faced elimination from the postseason at home court. What transpired in Game 6 was nothing short of an extremely resilient performance from the hosts as they bagged a convincing 112-101 win and forced a deciding Game 7.

Between Joel Embiid's lingering illness and Kawhi Leonard's brilliant playoff form, the Raptors-Sixers matchup has incorporated all sorts of drama meshed with quality basketball.

The Raptors finished their regular season with a solid 58-24(0.707) record while the Sixers ended with 51-31(0.622), nine games behind Toronto on the East leaderboard. Being a clash between the second and third seed of the Eastern Conference, it has proven to be as tight as it could possibly have been.

Let's draw out some prominent takeaways from this hardy showing by the Sixers in an elimination game.

#1 Jimmy Butler stepped up to the challenge; All five Philly starters score in double digits.

Jimmy Butler is averaging 19.2 ppg in the playoffs.

Jimmy Butler played 35 minutes in the ball-game and on an efficient 9-of-18(50%) shooting night, dropped a team-high total of 25 points. Along with an impressive scoring show, Butler chipped in 6 rebounds, 8 assistsa and a couple of steals as well on the defensive end of the floor.

"I play to win," Butler said. "Right now, this is what I have to do in order to give us a great chance at winning."

According to Sixers stats,

Butler has scored 20-plus points in five straight games, dating back to April 29. The five-game streak ties a playoff career high. The last 76er with a five-game streak in a single postseason was Allen Iverson in 2003.

When asked about Jimmy's performance, Coach Brown had nothing but praise,

"He was all over that game," coach Brett Brown said. "The mood in the locker room, you could sense the serious side. They got the moment and I think he got it as much as anybody and led us."

Joel Embiid finished with a characteristic double-double as all starters contrbuted at least 11 points to the Sixers' winning cause.

#2 Toronto's three-point shooting slump catches up to them.

Toronto was the 6th best 3-point shooting team during the regular season.

With a respectable regular season conversion of over 36% from beyond the arc, the Raptors are struggling to get it done against Philly in the ongoing postseason serise. Kyle Lowry is shooting a miserable 28% from deep in the playoffs so far and the team shot a collective 9-of-36(25%) from long-range in their most recent loss to Embiid and his Sixers.

"I think I could have pushed a little bit more, tried to get in the paint a little more," Lowry said.

Veteran sharp shooter Danny Green missed six of his eight 3-point attempts and finished with just 8 points in a game where Toronto could've got rid of the pesky Sixers once and for all.

Moreover, Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka shot a combined 0-of-10 from beyond the arc in Game 6. The Raptors missed 14 of their 17 3s in the first itself and things just went downhill from that point onwards.

#3 Ben Simmons found his long-lost aggressiveness in Game 6. But is it too little too late?

Ben Simmons is averaging 13.3 ppg in the playoffs this year.

Ben Simmons is the piece of the puzzle that was missing all throughout the series for Philadelphia. He scored 10 or fewer points in four of the first five contests, exhibiting an uncharacteristic absence of aggression. However, he broke out of his shell in Game 6 to put together a 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists(on 9-of-13 shooting) performance and save his team from elimination.

"What he(Simmons) did today was lot of the reasons he was an NBA All-Star at age 22," Coach Brown said.

He attacked the rim at multiple occassions and bounced back to play his natural game which compensates for his lack of shooting range pretty comprehensively. With just one more clash remaining, Simmons' resurgence is pivotal to Philly's success considering his primary ball handling role. Looking at the way his game is shaping up to be, the Sixers can be a lethal force in the near future.