The Sixers manage the Raptors to force the decisive play 7

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid had help from his friends.

Jimmy Butler (Philadelphia), Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris (Philadelphia) have assured that their season will not end at home.

Butler had 25 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, Simmons 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Harris 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists while the Sixers defeated the Toronto Raptors 112-101 Thursday in the sixth game of their match. Semi-final series of the conference.

We are at Match 7 on Sunday in Toronto (7 pm ET, TNT), and the final of the series will have significant consequences and potential changes for the loser during the off season. Both teams think they can reach the finals of the NBA.

Sixers coach Brett Brown has decided to give his team a day off Wednesday following the lost game of the fifth day in Toronto. It was the Raptors' second consecutive victory and, while the Sixers had problems to settle, Brown trusted his instincts.

"It comes to the point where we make the following decision:" When does someone have to fill his goblet? When does he just need time? "" Brown said before match 6. "To harangue them with tape, and we will not train anyway." At this point, no one is training.

"To bring them and film them with me was not wise, I thought we could do better what I wanted to do – at my own pace on the team – if they could fill their cups. day, I'm glad we did it. "

Here are the keys to Philadelphia's victory

1. Jimmy Buckets: Butler – nicknamed Jimmy Buckets – came out to play from the start with his aggressive offensive. He had eight points in the first quarter and eleven in the second quarter, including seven in the last 78 seconds of the first half, helping the Sixers to score 58-43 in advance at halftime.

"The way he started, even the end of the first half, he simply asserted his authority in his skill set and in his will – whatever words you wanted – he was everywhere in this match "said Brown. "The atmosphere in the locker room while we were reviewing our version of a shootaround before, you could feel the serious side.They had the moment, and it had it as much as anyone else." He was a great leader, and his performance reflected his attitude. "

The Sixers acquired it early in the season in Minnesota for this: to put the Sixers in a position to reach the final phase of the conference.

After a slow start in the first game – 10 points – Butler was the rock of Philadelphia. He had 30 points in the win of the third game of the Sixers and 22 points, nine rebounds, nine assists for the triumph of the fourth game.

Butler's versatility in defense (two interceptions) and his calm against stressful situations also helped the Sixers reach the seventh game.

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2. Embiid contributions: Marc Gasol of the Raptors blocked the first blow of the game of Embiid, and Embiid never really put things flat. He finished with 17 points on shots at 5 against 14, including 2 against 3 on 3 points.

But it had an impact in other ways. He added 12 rebounds and two blocks, including a block on Kawhi Leonard which led to a Simmons lay-up and an 81-63 advantage over the Sixers.

Embiid was also a strong pick-and-roll defender, which made it difficult for Toronto to run on the offensive.

What kind of impact did it have? The Sixers outclassed the Raptors by 30 points in the first half when Embiid was down and 40 for the match.

"I thought he was brilliant everywhere, even if it does not show up on an offensive stats sheet … … His importance to our team is obvious," Brown said. "Tonight you saw Joel Embiid in better health, he came out and got a plus-40. It's a huge plus-minus number in a playoff game, its importance is felt everywhere."

3. Subnormal production in Toronto: The Raptors did not make good ground (43.2%), they were exceeded 52 to 34 and their production on bench is almost non-existent.

Leonard had a night of rest for him, especially compared to what he had done in this series, with 29 points on 9 shots out of 20.

There were only five players left on the reserve center, Serge Ibaka, but there were only seven players. Only Ibaka, Fred Van Vleet and Norman Powell played more than five minutes on the bench.

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.