Philadelphia, led by a dominating performance from MVP finalist Joel Embiid defeated the Raptors in a crucial game two with a final score of 112-97. Toronto tried to play physical against Embiid, knocking him off of his spots and pushing him around trying to pin him on the perimeter. This did not work however as he forced his way to the basket, and when the help came, the role players hit their open shots. The Sixers Defense however was the reason they won this game. They held Pascal Siakum and Fred Vanvleet to a combined 14-43 from the field. OG Anunoby did his best to pick up the scoring load with 26 points, but it wasn't enough as the Philly did a great job of cutting off driving lanes, and recovering to shooters off of help situations. Tobias Harris in particular showed us a glimpse of why the Sixers gave him 180 million dollars with stellar defense on Pascal throughout the game. The Sixers ran a 9 man rotation with all 5 starters playing at least 37 minutes. Tyrese Maxey continues to overachieve expectations as the 21 year old combo guard scored 23 points on only 11 shots and 9 boards and 8 assists as well. Gary Trent Jr who started the game, only played 10 minutes and scored 0 points as he was clearly dealing with discomfort from lingering injuries. As the series shifts across the boarder to ScotiaBank arena in Toronto, Philly has a chance to put a strangle hold on this first round series by taking a commanding 3-0 series lead. The last time Philly played a playoff game in Toronto this happened - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChT3ewZXTfM
Needless to say, a win in Toronto is needed to even the score. Philly has a chance to essentially end this series with a win where heartbreak took place. Let's see if they are able to do it.
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