Philadelphia 76ers blow out Toronto Raptors in second half of Game 6 to clinch series

TORONTO — Someday, a team will come back from down 3-0 to win an NBA playoff series.

But it won't be the 2022 Toronto Raptors.

After becoming the 14th team to extend a best-of-seven series to Game 6 after falling behind 3-0, the Raptors didn't have enough to prolong this series for another game. The Philadelphia 76ers — thanks to a dominant third quarter that saw them outscore Toronto 37-17 and at one point score 17 straight points — came away with a 132-97 victory over Toronto Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round series here at Scotiabank Arena.

The win moves Philadelphia into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fourth time in five years, where the 76ers will hope to finally break through and reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since Allen Iverson led them there in 2001. Philadelphia begins its series in Miami against the top-seeded Heat Monday night.

The 76ers were led by a balanced attack across the board. Joel Embiid, playing through a torn ligament in his right thumb, finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes, going 12-for-18 from the field. James Harden had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 15 assists, playing with the aggression the 76ers desperately needed from him. And second-year guard Tyrese Maxey had a huge bounce-back game as well, finishing with 25 points and eight assists after scoring 23 points combined in Games 4 and 5.

It was exactly the kind of performance the 76ers needed — but one that was far from certain to take place when this game tipped off shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday evening. After Game 3 of this series, when Embiid's last-second 3-pointer in overtime gave Philadelphia a 104-101 victory here over the Raptors last week to take a 3-0 lead, it seemed as if