In the wild, unpredictable NBA Eastern Conference semifinal between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, the team that seems to take control of the series in one game ends up getting humbled in the next.
The Raptors hope that trend continues Sunday, when they host a do-or-die Game 7 on the heels of a thorough 112-101 beatdown in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Instead, the 76ers came out with their backs against the wall on Thursday and punched the Raptors in the mouth early en route to a statement series-tying victory. The wild momentum swings have been occurring since Game 1, a lopsided 108-95 Raptors win at Scotiabank Arena. Philly responded with an ugly 94-89 win in Game 2 to steal a game in Toronto. The Raptors' stone-cold shooters missed many wide-open chances in a game they arguably should have won.
"It's not unlike where we have been a couple of times already in this series," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said ahead of Game 7. "They are critical games. They are all critical. "I mean, tonight I feel like we messed up sometimes on transition and defence; we didn't knock down open shots early, you know, and they played well," Leonard said after Game 6. "They came with pace and knocked down their open shots early on, and we tried to dig ourselves out of the hole."
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