NBA playoffs on May 9: 76ers, Trail Blazers drag series to Game 7

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The Philadelphia 76ers claimed a big win against the Toronto Raptors 112-101 at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, tying the series 3-3. Likewise the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 119-108 at the Moda Center.

Both series will go to Game 7.

Raptors vs. 76ers: is this the right way for Ben Simmons to play?

Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks in the game they win against the Toronto Raptors 112-101 at the Wells Fargo Center, May 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

Usually when Game 6 happens in a series, neither side has much to change and have to count on their players' will, strength and even luck. Well, Philadelphia was the exception this time, probably because they had done too much wrong previously. Simply speaking, coach Brett Brown gave new instructions to Ben Simmons, who thus made key contributions to Philadelphia's victory.

From the beginning of the game, Simmons led the 76ers in assaulting the paint. Though he did not pose a big threat on offense, Simmons intentionally tried to drive towards the rim. Thanks to his size, quickness and athleticism, the Raptors had to narrow their defensive line on him and when they did, Simmons would immediately find open teammates outside the 3-pt line. By the way, the 76ers buried 10 three-pointers in Thursday's game – not much, but good enough to make the Raptors pay.

That's not the only change Simmons made. When he's not holding the ball, instead of standing still like he did in the past games, he tried to get under the rim. When Toronto's focus was all on Joel Embiid, Simmons used his size advantage to compete for offensive rebounds.

Jimmy Butler #23 of the 76ers shoots under the rim in the game against the Raptors, May 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

Of course Simmons alone was not enough for Philadelphia to defeat Toronto. Fortunately they also had Jimmy Butler, who was relentless in his attacks, either with penetration or posting up in the paint. Scoring the team's highest 25 points, Butler proved that he's still the best choice on offense of Philadelphia.

However, it was not a one-sided game. Though Kawhi Leonard got nothing from the 3-pt line, it did not stop him from dropping the game's highest 29 points and 12 rebounds. Pascal Siakam seemed to have overcome his injury too, and scored 21 points.

Toronto's problem was that Leonard and Siakam were all they had. Besides the two, Kyle Lowry had 13 points and they were the only three players of the team that scored double-digits. By contrast, Philadelphia saw all of their starting five drop over 10 points while Mike Scott from the bench also contributed 11 points.

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers: sometimes simpler is better

Damian Lillard #0 and C.J. McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoot in the game they win against the Denver Nuggets 119-108 at the Moda Center, May 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

Portland was almost defeated in the first quarter of Game 6. The 34-26 score (Denver lead) aside, all Portland's players seemed stressed and stiff, while Denver were playing in a comfortable and relaxed state.

With Nikola Jokic resting on the bench, the Trail Blazers managed to catch up but the real change happened after that. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum focused on what they did best: scoring. Trail Blazers back-court partners kept asking their inside players to set screens for them and when they saw that short open moment, Lillard and McCollum took it, hard and fast.

Rodney Hood of the Trail Blazers roars to celebrate in the game against the Nuggets, May 9, 2019. /VCG Photo

Thanks to these simple, but effective offensive tactics, Lillard and McCollum put down 32 and 30 points respectively. Lillard also made six 3-pointers. The threat of these two was so big that the Nuggets had to focus most of their defensive attention on them, thus leaving the rest of the Trail Blazers open for easy shots. Rip City seized the chance and had more players score. Their assists also started to grow from only one in the first quarter to 17 the following three quarters.

What's also worked in Portland's favor was that Rodney Hood stood out from the bench to score 25 points and made three 3-pointers, outnumbering all of Denver's bench players. With the addition of Zach Collins, who contributed 14 points and five blocks, the two gave Portland a huge advantage from the bench.