Embiid scores 33, 76ers finally finish off Raptors
TORONTO — James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers are headed for the second round, not home for Game 7.
Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Harden added 22 points and 15 assists and the 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 132-97 in Game 6 to end their first-round series Thursday night.
“We weren’t going back to Philly for a Game 7,” Harden said.
Philadelphia will face Miami in the second round, with Game 1 Monday in South Florida. The top-seeded Heat beat Atlanta in five games.
“They’re good, they’re deep, they’re veterans,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said about the Heat. “We’ve got to go play grown men, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, going 5 for 12 from 3point range, and Tobias Harris had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help the 76ers finish off the Raptors with a blowout after losing the past two games.
“We knew what was at stake for us,” Harris said. “No disrespect to our fans, but we did not want to come back to Wells Fargo for a Game 7. We wanted to end it tonight out here.”
Danny Green scored 12 points and shot 4 for 7 from 3point range as the Sixers finished 16 for 40 from beyond the arc. The Raptors struggled from 3-point range, going 7 for 35.
Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, Pascal Siakam fouled out with 24 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 19 and Scottie Barnes 18.
“We fought hard but we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” Siakam said. “We just have to go back and learn from it.”
Toronto lost in the first round for the first time since being swept by Washington in 2015.
“I thought we went through a tremendous amount this year,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “They just kept fighting, kept playing, kept getting better and kept figuring it out.”
The Raptors played without All-Star guard Fred VanVleet, who missed his second straight game because of a strained left hip flexor.