Ron Turenne/Getty Images Philadelphia 76ers small forward Jimmy Butler lamented the team's poor performance in a Game 5 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Tuesday night, but Sixers head coach Brett Brown is confident they'll bounce back in Game 6. "I think we laid an egg," Butler told reporters after the 36-point defeat to fall behind 3-2 in the series. "We're excited to go back to Philadelphia," Brown said. "Nobody's walking out of here, 'Woe is me.' I promise you that. We have a prideful team; we have a team that had a poor performance tonight. ... But nobody's walking out of here thinking anything else but we're excited to go back to Philadelphia and find a way to win." Butler made just six of his 16 shots from the field en route to a team-high 22 points for a Philly team that shot 41.8 percent from the field, including 25 percent from beyond the arc. Joel Embiid had 13 points and six rebounds before getting mocked by rapper Drake and other members of the Scotiabank Arena crowd in Toronto when he exited the contest. "I just saw them shake their bodies," Embiid told reporters. "I didn't pay attention about what the hell they were doing. Good for them. ... I don't care if it offends anybody, but what I do is all about having fun. I don't care. And I'm going to do that because I know I'm going to dominate." Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon The 76ers trailed by one after the first quarter but were outscored by a 37-17 margin in the second. They also lost the rebound battle 42-37 and were fouled 18 times to the Raptors' 26, and they turned the ball over 19 times. The 36-point loss exceeded Philadelphia's margin of defeat in its first three losses of the postseason combined (27 points). Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon Brown may attempt to use the blowout as a learning experience or simply wipe the slate clean and start fresh for Game 6. It would be hard to yield much useful information from a night in which the Sixers were thoroughly outplayed. "It just wasn't there," point guard Ben Simmons said after scoring just seven points with five turnovers and four assists. "Offensive wasn't there; defense wasn't there. We were terrible tonight." The Sixers and Raptors will reconvene for Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly on Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN as the 76ers attempt to avoid elimination.<doc-sep>Philadelphia 76ers superstar Jimmy Butler believes that they need to move on quickly if they want to recover from their humiliating loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Butler and the Sixers had a forgettable night in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference Semis series, as they took a humbling 125-89 loss to the Raptors. They have little time to recover if they want to extend the series to a Game 7, and Butler has an idea on how they can move on from the defeat. “If I was coach, I wouldn’t show the tape,” Butler said via Suzette Francis of Global News Toronto. “Just move on and play the next.” Butler led the Sixers in scoring with 22 points on top of seven assists and five rebounds. However, the 29-year-old guard shot just 6-for-16 from the field, and 10 of his 22 points only came from the foul line. The other Philly superstars also had disappointing games. Ben Simmons finished with just seven points in 25 minutes, while Tobias Harris posted only 15 points. Joel Embiid struggled for the second straight night, tallying 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting and committing eight turnovers. Philadelphia shot 41.8 percent from the field, including a measly 25 percent clip from the 3-point region. They also committed 19 turnovers compared to just 10 for Toronto. They will look to bounce back in Game 6 on Thursday, May 9, in Philadelphia.<doc-sep>And just like that, the Philadelphia 76ers are one loss away from seeing their 2018-19 season come to an end. Whether it all comes to an end on Thursday night or not, though, Jimmy Butler will be there until the end. At least, that was the unmistakable message Butler sent when he accompanied Joel Embiid to the podium after a rough Game 5 on Tuesday night. Philadelphia had no answers for the Toronto Raptors, and a thorough dismantling was the result. To the tune of a 125-89 beating, the Raptors took a 3-2 series lead in rather dominant fashion. For most of the season, the masses have grown accustomed to seeing Embiid being the dominator. Limited by an upper respiratory infection, that was far from the case on Tuesday night. The young superstar managed just 13 points and six rebounds, and turned the ball over eight times. With a bevy of health issues impacting him this postseason, it’s been a difficult time for Embiid, who has struggled as his team moved to within one loss of their season ending. On Tuesday night, though, what appears to have been a simple gesture by Butler sent a message: he has Embiid’s back. After NBA Playoff games, the competing teams send each of their head coaches and a few players to the podium to be addressed by the attending media in a formal press conference. Each team is responsible for selecting which of their players will address the media from the podium and which will address the media from the locker room, as is typically done during the regular season. According to Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com, Butler fulfilled his media obligations in the locker room, while Embiid was nominated to address reporters from the podium. While it is normal for superstar players to be sent to the podium, given his play and the repeated questions about his health, it was obviously not seeming to be a fun chore for Embiid. For whatever reason, Butler opted to attend Embiid’s press conference and sat beside his teammate, seemingly publicly offering him support the aftermath of Game 5. Jimmy fulfilled his postgame media obligation before this in the locker room and wasn’t scheduled to appear at the podium with Joel — going to go out on a limb and say this is a purposeful show of support for a teammate who is trying to battle through a tough stretch. pic.twitter.com/Kh94jtSSnu — brianseltzer (@brianseltzer) May 8, 2019 During the Sixers’ first round series against the Brooklyn Nets, Butler did something similar. After the much-discussed dust-up between Butler and Jared Dudley, the two were ejected from the contest. Typically, players who are ejected from games don’t address reporters afterward, so it was surprising for the attending media to see Butler attend the post game address with Embiid. When asked why he opted to attend the press conference, Butler joked that it was to prevent Embiid from saying anything dumb. Embiid then proceeded to troll the Golden State Warriors for squandering their 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, so Butler’s reported mission was a failure… That is, of course, unless you realize that Butler’s true intent here is simply to support the team’s franchise player. Jimmy Butler joining Joel Embiid at the podium, even though he already spoke in the locker room. — Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) May 8, 2019 Even in a tough moment, after suffering an embarrassing loss to the Raptors, Butler stood proudly beside Embiid. If nothing else, it’s an admirable show of camaraderie that the Sixers will take into Game 6 as they fight for their playoff lives.<doc-sep>As we always post in our app ( iOS Android ), here are grades and breakdowns for each Sixers player’s performance in the team’s 125-89 Game 5 loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors lead the series 3-2. The ratings scale is 1-5 stars. For the playoffs, we will include a grade for head coach Brett Brown’s performance (found at the bottom).Jimmy Butler (22 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST): 4 starsWith Joel Embiid battling illness and JJ Redick being swarmed by Toronto’s defense, Butler had to accept a larger-than-usual offensive workload — even by his postseason standards.<doc-sep>
Thursday night was it. The season was on the line for the Philadelphia 76ers following a 36-point nightmarish loss in Game 5 in Toronto. In Game 6, they stepped up to the challenge with a 112-101 win to force a decisive Game 7 back in Toronto on Sunday. The man who has received the brunt of the criticism has been Ben Simmons who had a lackluster Game 5 in the loss and people were calling for him to be better. Coach Brett Brown said that we would see a much different and aggressive Simmons in Game 6 and he delivered by pouring in 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists with a grand total of zero turnovers after committing five in Game 5. “He was our bell ringer tonight,” said Brown. “You see Jimmy Butler’s performance, and so for Ben to be our bell ringer with some of those other performances sort of confirms what I think he did tonight.” Jimmy Butler, who had 25 points, eight assists, and six rebounds of his own, has been imploring Simmons to “attack” more in games and Thursday night was no different. “He did that. He attacked in transition, in the half, he made some free throws,” said Butler. “That’s how we need him to be.” Simmons was 3-for-6 at the free throw line after attempting just four free throws total in the first five games of this series. He was clearly in attack mode from the beginning and the Sixers needed it more than ever with the season on the line. “You can’t key in on just one or two guys on this team, because we have so many guys who can put the ball in the basket,” said Butler. “We have so many guys who can get a stop and go take off dribbling with the basketball. Like I said before, that’s how we’re going to win. When he’s aggressive, when Tobias(Harris) is aggressive. It gives us a greater chance of winning.” They now head into a Game 7 situation in Toronto where they will certainly need the same aggressive Simmons on Sunday.