 | PHI 76ers | 89 | Final Box Score | 125 | TOR Raptors |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam34 MIN, 25 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 7-19 FG, 2-7 3FG, 9-10 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 35 +/- He looked healthier than game 4, to say the least. Hit a couple of threes which was great to see, and he attacked and got to the line, but he really made his impact on the defensive end where he seemed to have his footspeed back and helped the Raptors absolutely stifle the Sixers offense in this game. | |
 A+ | K. Leonard36 MIN, 21 PTS, 13 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 7-16 FG, 0-4 3FG, 7-8 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 20 +/- A relatively quiet 21-point performance, but he made every impact play he had to. Two huge poster dunks, one at the end of the first half, and another in the second half on Embiid as the Raptors took over. His efficiency wasn’t there like it’s been all series, but he didn’t have to do that tonight with the other guys scoring, and he put those guys in positions to succeed. | |
 A+ | M. Gasol33 MIN, 11 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 4-6 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 14 +/- Took some of those open shots a little quicker tonight, even taunting Embiid prior to hitting one three, and was as good defensively as he’s been all playoffs long. The Gasol/Ibaka lineups have been fantastic and caused problems for the Sixers, and helped the Raptors win the rebounding battle tonight. | |
 A+ | K. Lowry34 MIN, 19 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 2-5 3FG, 7-8 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 31 +/- What a game from Lowry. Scored 6 of the Raptors’ first 8 points, hit several other huge shots throughout the night, and was fantastic defensively as well. He set the tone and kept the Raptors playing at that level all night long, and delivered huge plays constantly. | |
 A+ | D. Green28 MIN, 17 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 3 STL, 5-8 FG, 5-7 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 15 +/- Had to figure at some point the shots were going to fall for Green, he’s too good of a shooter not to have that happen at some point. Tonight he finally punished Philly for the space they’ve been giving him all series long, and that changed the defense throughout the game that Toronto saw. | |
 A+ | S. Ibaka22 MIN, 10 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 27 +/- Playing him alongside Gasol for some minutes seems to have unlocked Serge in this series. Played tough tonight, even after taking a Kawhi elbow to the forehead and leaving briefly for three stitches, and hit those midrange jump shots he knocked down all season, establishing the Lowry/Serge pick and pop game once again. | |
 A | F. VanVleet16 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-5 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 11 +/- Five points isn’t a stellar night for Fred, certainly, but his defense was back tonight and the shots he did hit were huge. Him being dependable defensively adds a huge aspect to the bench lineups and helps them hold the line to get the starters rest. | |
 A | N. Powell10 MIN, 7 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 13 +/- Norm gave the Raptors some good minutes prior to garbage time in this one, and then hit some shots late in the fourth to pad the totals. Still, was good to see him in there knocking a few down. | |
 B+ | P. McCaw7 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- There was plenty of garbage time tonight, so everyone saw some time, and while it’s hard to evaluate it’s always nice to see those guys out there in the playoffs. | |
 B+ | J. Meeks7 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- Meeks came in and hit a garbage time three, and the reps might help for a guy who might yet see a minute or two of meaningful basketball in another series. | |
 B+ | E. Moreland6 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Had a dunk, dished a pair of assists and made some nice crowd-pleasing plays as the game wound down. | |
 B+ | J. Lin5 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Lin hit a three and ran a nice give-and-go to get Moreland a dunk in garbage time. | |
 B+ | M. Miller2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- Was in for the last two minutes, didn’t really make an impact. Nice to see Miller on the floor though, as usual. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse Nurse made all the adjustments in this one. Mirrored Gasol and Embiid’s minutes, played big to win the rebounding battle, had everyone looking ready to shoot and had the offense assertive and the defense engaged all night long. Got everything he needed to out of his team, and had the Raptors looking like a true title contender in this game. | |
Things We Saw
- The Raptors weren’t going to keep shooting like they did in games 1 through 4. That eventually had to correct, and that happened tonight with them hitting 40% from downtown. When they do that, the offense looks entirely different and Philly struggled to meet that challenge tonight.
- The Raptors starters were dominant again after a couple of rough games, and that coming despite Kawhi’s worst offensive performance of the series(not that 21 efficient points is bad) was good to see for Toronto. The defensive energy that lineup has can cause challenges for any team, and Philly didn’t have any answers.
- It took a while for the lead to really establish tonight, and the game stayed within reach well into the second quarter on the scoreboard, but this felt like Raptors domination almost whistle-to-whistle. Toronto was more engaged and more prepared throughout, and once the shots started to fall the scoreboard reflected that as well.
- Still, it’s only one win. Anything can happen in a game 7, and Toronto will want to avoid that, so it’s important for the Raptors to bring a similar performance to Philadelphia for Thursday night.
