Sixers returning to Philly after Game 2 win relieved, revived and confident
The Sixers were punched in the mouth badly in Game 1 and had the resiliency to fight back, resulting in what might be considered a series-shifting win.
TORONTO – For a team that saved its season, the mood was rather subdued in the 76ers’ locker room following Monday’s 94-89 win over the Toronto Raptors that evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game each.
Maybe the players were simply too tired for any loud celebrating. Jimmy Butler, who scored nearly a third of his team’s points, 30 in all, spoke in almost hushed tones . Joel Embiid had been a game-time decision due to gastroenteritis, and while he was noticeably weaker, his teammates picked him up, with Butler doing the heaviest lifting.
Butler had played 42 minutes and 59 seconds of scintillating basketball, hitting big shots and free throws down the stretch, scoring 12 of the Sixers’ 25 fourth-quarter points.
In the locker room, there wasn’t the chorus of, “Nobody thought we could win,” contrasting earlier in the day when coach Brett Brown made it a point to mention that none of the Philadelphia writers picked the Sixers in the series. This showed that at least he read The Inquirer.
The players weren’t interested in answering questions addressing the people picking against the Sixers, at least for this night.
“We don’t worry about people who think we can’t do something,” said indefatigable point guard Ben Simmons, who played a career-high 44 minutes and 22 seconds. “We are not worried about outside noise, people are going to say what they want to say.”
What many said and even more thought after the Game 1 loss was that the Sixers were doomed.
Yet the playoffs are often just as much about a mindset as a skill set. The Sixers were punched in the mouth badly in Game 1 and had the resiliency to fight back.
“It is, what team imposes their will first and for the longest?” said forward Tobias Harris, who had nine points, 11 rebounds and four assists. “I thought tonight we did a great deal of that, which was the reason we were able to get the win.”
Shots don’t always fall, but effort is something that is expected to be consistent. So on the other side, there was an admission that the Raptors didn’t leave everything they had out on the court.
“They came out more aggressive than us,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. “We didn’t come out aggressive enough.”
It had to hurt Lowry, a true Philadelphian from Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova and one of the toughest players in the league, to utter those sentences.
“We didn’t come out with a super sense of urgency,” he said. “We didn’t play well tonight and they played really desperate.”
On a night when the Sixers’ leading scorer (Embiid) made only two field goals and the team committed 19 turnovers -- 10 more than the Raptors -- they were able to make up for deficiencies, mainly due to adjustments made by Brown and the effort shown by his team.
The biggest effort stat is rebounding, and the Sixers owned a 53-36 advantage. At halftime, when the Sixers led 51-38, backup center Greg Monroe had more offensive rebounds than the entire Raptors team.
The Sixers also made 24-of-26 free throws, while the Raptors only got to the line 15 times (making 13).
Afterwards Monroe, who suffered a left ankle sprain, insisted he would be ready to go for Game 3 on Thursday at what should be a charged-up Wells Fargo Center.
Who would have thought before this series that the status of Greg Monroe’s ankle would be of great interest?
Yet in the playoffs, with such a tiny window, heroes can emerge on such short notice.
Of any emotion, most of all, there was a sense of relief as the Sixers departed Scotiabank Arena. A Sixers team that looked so down and out after Saturday’s loss was revived after snaring home-court advantage from the suddenly shell-shocked Raptors.