The Philadelphia 76ers finished off the Cleveland Cavaliers rather easily on Saturday night as they led by as many as 53 on their way to an easy 141-94 win led by a career-high 34 points from Ben Simmons. Now that that one is out of the way, the focus now shifts to a big rival: the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors, of course, knocked off the Sixers in seven tough games that will forever be marked by the shot by Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors then beat the Sixers in their first matchup since Game 7 as they held Joel Embiid scoreless on the night.
As they head to the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday for a rematch, the Sixers will be ready for them. Coach Brett Brown certainly will not treat this one as a regular game. This one means something to this team.
“To dust it off and say it’s just another game, I will not say that at all,” said Brown. “It would be disingenuous, our recent history with them, you remember. It’s true, they are the NBA champs. The game that we lost in Toronto doesn’t go away quickly.”
The game they lost in Toronto not only lingers with Brown, but with Simmons as well.
“They’ve already beat us,” said Simmons. “It’s 1-0. We’d love to get this one. We need it”
Ben Simmons on tomorrows matchup with the Raptors: “It’s 1-0 right now. We need it.” #Sixers pic.twitter.com/aFKWa3ppDL
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) December 8, 2019
Simmons only played 25:39 against the Cavs on Saturday and playing such a small amount of minutes keeps him fresh for the big game on Sunday.
“That was huge, that was huge,” he added. “Just making sure everybody was locked in throughout the game regardless if somebody’s playing 20 to 10 minutes. Just making sure everyone has that same mindset.”
Brown was happy with the team’s ability to blowout Cleveland on Saturday and make quick work of the Cavs. It means his guys are able to rest up for Sunday.
We’re going to figure out what level of strength we will be at and it’s true, they’re sitting somewhere in Philadelphia in a hotel room waiting to come in and play us,” Brown added. “I do think that the margin we were able to establish the minutes won’t impact tomorrow, but for sure I know who we’re playing tomorrow.”
Round 2 of Sixers and Raptors is on Sunday from the Wells Fargo Center. [lawrence-related id=20831,20816,20809]