After the Raptors took down the 76ers 103-88 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Monday night -- moving Toronto within two wins of becoming the first team to erase a 0-3 deficit in NBA history -- Philadelphia superstar Embiid remained confident his team has what it takes.
After finishing with 20 points, 11 rebound and 4 assists in 39 minutes, he said, "We are fine." The ball should not be turned over, offensive rebound. We need to be better defensively and more connected. I felt like there were a few plays where we were not on point and we didn't have each other's backs.
We are fine. We won three games in a row. The reason why we gave up these last two games is because we have not been ourselves. We have to do better.
Even though he said the torn thumb didn't feel any different after the game, he had to send out a reassuring message to the team and its fan base.
The Raptors, despite missing All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet who sat out with a left hip flexor strain, dominated the 76ers from start to finish on Monday. The Raptors would become the fourth team to force a Game 7 in that situation if they win at home Thursday.
Philadelphia led for all of 21 seconds from when James Harden opened the scoring with a jumper to when OG Anunoby made a long jumper. The Raptors scored the next five points and never looked back, opening a lead they would never relinquish after a tight first quarter.
76ers coach Doc Rivers said that they got everything they wanted and used 23 seconds per possession. They turned the game into a slow-paced battle but they were able to run whenever they wanted. They got both, like they beat us in transition, when they didn't have transition, used the clock, and scored on us.
We will have to do something better to help our guys defend better.
With VanVleet out, Toronto turned to Scottie Barnes at point guard, with no player under 6-foot touching the floor until garbage time. The result was a suffocating defensive display, one that held Philadelphia to 38% shooting from the field, 10-for-37 from 3-point range and forced 16 76ers turnovers that became 20 Raptors points.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said that they were active and worked hard. I think for the most part we did, especially early. We played hard for the whole game.
Harden was not involved. After scoring the first four points of the game for Philadelphia on a jumper and a fast-break dunk, Harden went just 2-for-9 over the final 46 minutes, finishing 4-for-11 from the field and 2-for-9 from 3-point range to accumulate 15 points, 7 assists and 5 turnovers
Harden dismissed the question if Toronto was trying to force him into missing shots.
He said that he took 11 shots.
He said it was up to Rivers to make Harden more aggressive on the offensive end.
He needs to be aggressive and he needs to be himself, that's what I told him all season. If they are going to guard me the way they have been guarding, Coach should tell him to take more shots. That is not my job.
We all need to be better. We missed a lot of shots. We were not aggressive attacking the ball when I was doubled. We kept moving the ball around the perimeter, and that gave them time to recover, and that is why they were not able to get anything out of it.
If they want to keep doing that, we have to take advantage of it.
The mood inside the Wells Fargo Center was tense from the beginning, with the memory of last season's collapse at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals -- capped off by Simmons passing up a dunk late in the fourth quarter of Game 7 -- clearly hanging over.
The crowd booed early and often, and after an Anunoby dunk put Toronto up 14 with , fans began streaming to the exits.
The Raptors forward, who spent seven seasons with the 76ers to begin his career, said that the Philly fans are tough.
They will let you know when you are doing well and when you are doing wrong. This is a blue-collar city, and they believe in blue-collar work and making sure you bring your 100% effort each and every night.
The crowd didn't like what they saw. The question now is whether this team will go back to Toronto for a Game 7 on Saturday, or if they will go back and close this series out in Toronto on Thursday.
Nurse said that it doesn't matter if there ismomentum or not.
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