The Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday forced Game 7s in their second-round playoff series with a pair of bounce-back wins to stave off elimination.
Jimmy Butler posted 25 points and six rebounds, and Joel Embiid had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the 76ers survived to fight another day with a 112-101 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 6.
Ben Simmons rebounded to deliver 21 points after struggling in Game 5 with just seven points and five turnovers. His Game 6 total was more than his combined points total of games 5 and 4.
Photo: AP
“It was amazing focus. Everybody was locked in,” Simmons said. “We knew what was at stake.”
Embiid, who was listed as a probable starter due to a sore knee, also got back on track after making eight turnovers in Game 5.
“I knew I had to come in with high spirits,” Embiid said. “If I’ve got to play 45 minutes and push myself out there, that’s what I’ll do.”
The winner-take-all contest is to be tomorrow in Toronto, with the victor advancing to face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Tobias Harris contributed 16 points, and JJ Redick and Mike Scott had 11 each for the third-seeded Sixers, who have not advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001, when they ousted the Bucks in seven games.
TRAIL BLAZERS 119, NUGGETS 108
Damian Lillard scored 17 of his 32 points in the third quarter as the Trail Blazers forced Game 7 in their series with Denver with a 119-108 win.
Denver went in front by as much as 10 points in the first half before getting blasted by the Trail Blazers in the second.
C.J. McCollum added 30 points, and Rodney Hood came off the bench to score a career playoff-high 25 for Portland, who have not advanced to the final four in 19 years.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 29 points and 12 rebounds, while Jamal Murray added 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Lillard put the Blazers ahead to stay with a three-pointer with 4 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the third period.
Portland’s Hood hit two key baskets when the Nuggets threatened early in the fourth, helping the Trail Blazers send the series back to Denver tomorrow.
“It is unfortunate, but we have been here before,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “Now we go home and we have the best home-court advantage in the NBA, and we are going to try to take advantage of that and close it out.”
The winners of tomorrow’s game are to face the winners of the series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.
DURANT SIDELINED
Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant was to miss yesterday’s game at Houston after an MRI scan revealed a strained right calf, the reigning league champions announced on Thursday.
Durant, averaging a league-best 34.2 points in the playoffs, was removed in the third quarter of Golden State’s 104-99 home victory on Wednesday over Houston.
There were fears Durant might have suffered a more extensive injury, but the team said that the MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right calf strain.
With Durant sidelined, the Warriors are likely to rely upon Andre Iguodala off the bench, as well as other reserves to try and contain the Rockets.
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