Philadelphia – Jimmy Butler lived up to his Jimmy Buckets nickname to help Philadelphia force a seventh game against Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals, hitting shots in bunches and scoring 25 points in the 76ers' 112-101 victory over the Raptors on Thursday night.
Game 7 is Sunday night in Toronto. The Milwaukee Bucks await the winner.
Kawhi Leonard, who scored 30-plus points in the first four games in the series, was tied up early by the Sixers. He scored 29 points, but many came well after the game was out of hand.
Leonard and the Raptors had no answers for Butler and All-Star guard Ben Simmons, who scored 21 points. "It was amazing focus. Everybody was locked in," Simmons said. "We knew what was at stake."
Joel Embiid had played through a bad left knee and a stomach bug for most of the playoffs, and the entire team had reason to feel ill after the Raptors crushed the Sixers by 36 in Game 5. This game Embiid had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 35 minutes. He didn't do much early in Game 6, but Butler and Simmons — with eight points and five assists in the first quarter — built some needed separation.
Butler had 19 points in the first half.
"[Butler] 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."
Associated Press
