The Philadelphia 76ers were defeated by the Toronto Raptors 125-89 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Here are the biggest takeaways from this devastating loss.
The Philadelphia 76ers went into Game 5 hoping to bounce back from a narrow five-point loss in Game 4. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way the team had hoped.
Early on, the game was competitive, with the Toronto Raptors holding a slim 27-26 lead after the first 12 minutes of action. The second quarter would prove to be a different story altogether.
During what turned out to be the game-changing stretch, the Sixers were outscored by a whopping 37-17 margin, connecting on just six of their 20 attempts from the floor.
Meanwhile, the Raptors shot 12-for-21, including four 3-pointers, enabling the home team to take a comfortable 64-43 lead into the break.
"“The second period is where it got away from us,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown told ESPN. “I give Toronto credit, we didn’t have the answers for a few of their players and it snowballed.”"
The two teams played to a near stalemate in the third period before Toronto went on to outscore the Sixers 33-19 in the final frame. The result was an easy 125-89 victory to take a 3-2 series lead. The 36-point loss was Philadelphia’s worst playoff loss since Game 1 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals.
Once again, Jimmy Butler paced the Sixers with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways from the Sixers’ demoralizing Game 5 loss.