Raptors quest to make NBA history continues with Game 6 tonight

After dropping the first three games of their first round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Toronto Raptors have slowly clawed their way back and hope to even things up with a Game 6 win at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.

Fans will cram inside the arena and pack into Jurassic Park outside the building as the Raptors take the next step in their attempt to do something that has never been accomplished in the 75 year history of the NBA — become the first team to win a series after trailing 3-0.

Raptors forward Chris Boucher says the fans will play a key role in the teams quest to make history.

“The fans are into it. We’re going to need them for Game 6. It’s a big game. We can’t do it without them.”

“We just try to win one game at a time, we ain’t got nothing to lose,” says Boucher.

Only three teams in NBA history have even come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7.

“I felt really good about the way we played the last three games,” said head coach Nick Nurse. “It would be great if we could somehow come through this series and see another opponent.”

“i already said it, if somebody could do it, it would be us.”

As the Raptors pull together to complete a comeback from being down 0-3, they have replaced hope with belief and confidence with knowledge.

Their collective will to compete is widely shared and resolute. (By @michaelgrange)https://t.co/glINzVCKXL

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2022

Meanwhile, the pressure appears to be on a Sixers team whose franchise and head coach have their own checkered past when it comes to playoff miscues.

There have been 13 teams in league history who have blown a 3-1 series lead and head coach Doc Rivers has been on the wrong side of three of those occurrences. Rivers appeared to get defensive when questioned about his shaky past in close out playoff games.

“I wish y’all would tell the whole story with me,” said Rivers to the Philadelphia media. “Some of it is circumstances. This one, let’s win it and we don’t have to talk about it.”

"Do you think he gave that exact speech to the locker room?" ????@vivekmjacob joined @william_lou & @steven_lebron to discuss Doc Rivers' comments about his history of blowing 3-1 leads.

???? The Raptors Show: https://t.co/q7ZBEpDTQP pic.twitter.com/Z613Y3qXrS

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 27, 2022

Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet is once again listed as doubtful to play on Thursday night. VanVleet also missed Game 5 after suffering a left hip flexor strain that took forced him to leave Game 4 early.

VanVleet typically serves as the teams main ball-handler and one of their key offensive facilitators when he is healthy. Without a reliable backup point guard, Nurse has leaned on forwards Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes to bring the ball up the floor in lieu of VanVleet’s absence.

Siakam has only sat for eight minutes total over the past two games and appears to have found his groove after struggling during the three losses. The forward is averaging 28 points per game and chipping in with 9 rebounds and 6 assists per game during the last two wins.

Sixers’ all-star and MVP candidate Joel Embiid has been playing with a thumb injury and has appeared to be in discomfort at various points through the series. Embiid will require offseason surgery for the torn ligament in his thumb but the team has said he intends to play through the injury until the season ends.

Game 6 tips off at 7 p.m. ET. You can hear it on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

With files from The Canadian Press