PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers needed a win for a number of reasons Monday night.
At the top of the list was that a victory would allow them close out their playoff series with the Raptors and advance to the second round.
And it would allow star center Joel Embiid and the torn ligaments in his right thumb a rest before facing the winner of the Heat-Hawks series.
The Sixers are going to have to work a little harder if they plan to advance in the NBA playoffs. Monday night’s 103-88 Game 5 loss to the Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center cut their lead in the opening-round series to 3-2 after winning the first three games. Embiid is unlikely to get time off now.
Game 6 will be Thursday night (7) at Scotiabank Arena. If the Sixers lose again in Toronto, Game 7 would be Saturday (time TBA) in South Philadelphia. No team has failed to win in NBA postseason history when leading 3-0.
“That was a terrible game by us in terms of effort, but we have to be ready for Game 6,” said forward Tobias Harris.
Should the Sixers move on, they will try to improve on the franchise’s 1-10 record in their last 11 trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals, including 0-9 without homecourt advantage, dating back to 1985.
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It was an especially difficult night for the Sixers’ guards.
James Harden continued to struggle for the Sixers, going just 4 for 11 from the field with 15 points, 7 assists and 5 turnovers. Philly needs more from the veteran guard, especially with Embiid seemingly not able to do as much as he normally does.
Asked afterward if the Raptors did something to bother him, Harden replied, “I took 11 shots. No.”
“He just needs to be aggressive and be himself,” Embiid said. “That’s really not my job. That’s probably for coach to talk to him and tell him to take more shots, especially if they’re going to guard me the way they’ve been guarding (double-teaming) me.”
Rivers thought Toronto defended Harden and said “we got to get James going downhill in some more actions that he likes.”
Speedy second-year guard Tyrese Maxey followed a 4-for-13 shooting performance in Game 4 by going 5 of 14 with 12 points Monday.
“I keep saying with Tyrese we just got to get the ball in his hands more,” Rivers said. “He’s just not getting the ball in transition enough. And that’s on us.”
For his part, Maxey said he has to “get back in a good mental space, help us score and just try to bring positive energy.”
Reserve Matisse Thybulle, who sat out Games 3 and 4 in Toronto because he’s not fully vaccinated, went just 1 for 6 and his only made basket was knocked in by the Raptors. The fans cheered when Georges Niang replaced Thybulle in the third quarter.
Playing his first game since an MRI showed the extent of his thumb injury that is expected to require offseason surgery, Embiid finished with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting, plus 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 turnovers. He had 10 points in the opening period after only managing one point in the first quarter of the Game 4 loss in Toronto.
“It was fine,” Embiid said afterward.
The thumb didn’t seem to bother him as much as it did during Game 4, when he winced and shook it numerous times.
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“It’s no fun to play through,” said Rivers, who suffered the same thumb injury right before the playoffs as an NBA player. “The pain comes and goes, I’ll say that, with the injury. The stability with the thumb is the whole key. It’s not a pain thing. It’s more what he can do with it.”
Rivers talked about the importance of getting off to better starts and limiting the turnovers. While they trailed at the end of the first quarter for the fourth consecutive game, the deficit was only two (29-27). The deficit reached 16 and the crowd expressed its displeasure with the team’s struggles via boos. They also committed 16 turnovers, 10 of which came in the first half.
The Raptors were without all-star guard Fred VanVleet due to a hip flexor strain. He suffered the injury late in the second quarter of Game 4 and missed the rest of Toronto’s home win.
While it helped the Sixers that they didn’t have to chase VanVleet around, they still couldn’t finish off Toronto.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
