Getty Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers defends during Game One of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on April 27, 2019 in Toronto, Canada.
The Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia Sixers continue their best-of-seven playoff series at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
Thursday, May 2 at 8:00 PM ET
Wells Fargo Center
Coverage: ESPN
*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Bookmaker
- Toronto Raptors (-1 at -110) vs. Philadelphia Sixers
- Over/Under: 216.5 at -110
Jimmy Gets Buckets
The Sixers were able to even the Eastern Conference semifinals before heading back home after beating the Raptors 94-89 last Monday. Jimmy Butler had a double-double with a team-high 30 points and 10 rebounds on 9 of 22 shooting in 43 minutes and Joel Embiid put up 12 points, six rebounds and five assists despite fighting the stomach flu.
Tobias Harris added nine points and 11 rebounds but he shot just 3-for-11 and Ben Simmons wasn’t dominant, he did his best guarding Kawhi Leonard but he finished with just six points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jimmy Butler (30 PTS & 11 REB) was LOCKED IN for the @sixers to tie up the series 1-1 in Toronto! 🔒💪
Kawhi Leonard carried his team with 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Pascal Siakam had 21 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists but the Sixers held the Raptors to 89 points, their third-lowest scoring total of the season and only Leonard, Siakam and Kyle Lowry scored in double figures.
Poor bench play cost the Raptors. Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell and Jodie Meeks had poor games, scoring a combined five points on 2 of 11 shooting (18.2 percent) and this unit clearly misses OG Anunoby (9.8 Player Efficiency Rating), who is out because of an emergency appendectomy but could return if the Raptors make the Eastern Conference Finals.
Raptors vs. Sixers Trends and Prediction
The Toronto Raptors are:
- 4-0 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss
- 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games
- 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss
- 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall
- 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against Eastern Conference opponents
The Philadelphia Sixers are:
- 2-6 ATS in their last eight games in the second round of the NBA Playoffs
- 5-14 ATS in the last 19 meetings
- 12-27-2 ATS in the last 41 meetings in Philadelphia
Ibaka, VanVleet, Powell and Meeks had a combined plus/minus of -51 on Monday and they’re playing 12.8 minutes together, averaging 18.5 points on 31.1 percent shooting, 1.5 makes from 3-point range on 15.8 percent shooting and a -9.5 plus/minus in the first two games of this series.
The Raptors were 33-for-90 from the field (36.7 percent) and they still lost by just five points. Their defense wasn’t the issue as they held the Sixers under 100 points and if they get more production from their bench they will be in good shape on Thursday and Marc Gasol and Danny Green won’t shoot a combined 2-for-14 from the field (14.3 percent) again.
Pick: Raptors -1
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Raptors vs. Sixers Game 3 Prediction: Betting Odds, Line & Pick