Game 5 takeaways: Raptors obliterate Sixers, push Philly to the brink

For the second time this postseason, the Toronto Raptors set a new franchise record for largest margin of victory in a playoff game, eviscerating the Philadelphia 76ers 125-89 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's game:

Sixers forced out of rhythm

After switching Kawhi Leonard onto Jimmy Butler in the second half of Game 4, Nick Nurse and the Raptors opened Game 5 with Leonard back on Ben Simmons, and it paid immediate dividends. With Leonard hounding him, Simmons turned the ball over twice in the game's first 36 seconds, which proved to be a preview of Philly's night to come.

Joel Embiid, who is still battling an upper respiratory infection, turned the ball over eight times on only 19 individual possessions - a combination of both Embiid's carelessness with the ball, Marc Gasol's continued post defense, and Toronto's excellently timed help defense. Raptors guards Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Danny Green all forced Embiid turnovers on perfectly timed digs.

Simmons added five turnovers in just 25 minutes of action, while the Sixers as a team combined for 19.

With the Raptors boasting the league's most efficient transition offense, and fast-break king Pascal Siakam looking more like himself after being hampered by a calf injury in Game 4, Toronto outscored Philadelphia 33-8 on the break.

Different mindsets

This series may turn yet again with Game 6 being played in Philadelphia, but the Raptors and 76ers looked like two teams with completely different mindsets in Game 5.

The Raptors looked locked in from start to finish - the type of performance that speaks to a veteran team understanding the magnitude and urgency of the moment. Even up 30-plus points in the fourth quarter, Toronto ran its offense with energy and purpose, while rotating and closing out with ferocity on the defensive end.

Aside from Jimmy Butler, who kept Philly hanging around longer than it deserved, the youthful 76ers appeared shellshocked by the manner in which the Raptors "punched them in the mouth," as head coach Brett Brown described it postgame. The Sixers never looked like they found their feet on either end and made a stunning amount of mental errors.

One such miscue that stands out came late in the first half when James Ennis foolishly sought out contact with Leonard on a Raptors fast break, despite the Sixers being in the penalty and having players in position to defend the transition opportunity. Leonard got two free throws to stretch Toronto's lead to 21.

Lowry's extra gear

As otherworldly as Leonard's performance has been this postseason, and as valuable as Siakam's star turn has proven, Lowry remains the engine that makes this Raptors team go.

Toronto is at its best when Lowry attacks with aggression from the jump, and it's no coincidence that the team's biggest wins during this playoff run have come when the five-time All-Star is more engaged in the offense to start the game.

Lowry scored eight of his 19 points in the first half of the first quarter on Tuesday and generally seemed more assertive and forceful initiating the offense. He also made a point to push the pace and get the Raptors flowing in transition, regardless of whether the team was coming off of a defensive stop or Sixers bucket.

"Getting downhill, getting in transition off makes and misses - just keep pushing it, and pushing, and pushing," Lowry said of his Game 5 mindset. "I got to the free-throw line eight times tonight. As a team, we got to the free-throw line 33 times. We were just aggressive."

In typical Lowry fashion, the point guard also chipped in six rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block, making a number of key plays on the defensive end.

Lowry, who displayed an explosive burst in Games 4 and 5 hardly seen this season, still has the type of extra gear many pundits thought had abandoned him. Maybe he can't hit that gear for seven games at a time anymore, but he seems to know when the Raptors need him to reach it.

Toronto's size

After finding success utilizing Gasol and Serge Ibaka together in Game 4, Nurse once again turned to the Spanish national team duo for considerable stretches of Game 5, and it worked wonders.

One of the Sixers' few advantages in this series was their ability to punish the Raptors on the glass and generate multiple-shot possessions, but with two centers on the court for Toronto, that advantage has disappeared. Case in point, in the 14 minutes Gasol and Ibaka shared the court Tuesday, the Raptors posted a defensive rebound rate of 100 percent.

"I've played with Marc on the national team in Spain. We know how to play basketball," Ibaka said of the comfort level between the two. "I've been in the league 10 years. He's been in the league more than 10 years. Right now, we don't have time to think about how we're going to play together. The only thing in our mind is, go out there, try to figure it out, and play hard."

In seven minutes with all three of their big men on the court in Game 5, during which time Siakam filled the small forward role, the Raptors outscored the 76ers by 12 points.

It's tough to find giant lineups that work well together in the modern game, but the trio of Siakam, Ibaka, and Gasol possess enough playmaking and shooting to allow the Raptors to go extra large without sacrificing much spacing or offensive flow. The added frontcourt size also allows the Raptors to get away with playing Lowry and VanVleet together in the backcourt, which would usually be a disaster against Philly's length.

The Kawhi Show

In a game the Raptors won by 36 points, Leonard's loud highlights won't be spoken about with the same reverence as his Game 4 dagger, but there was still a sense of demoralization that came with them for the Sixers.

Leonard's dunk to end the first half, which saw him split Ennis and Tobias Harris in midair, while also catching and discarding Ennis' outstretched arm in the process, left the Toronto crowd standing and chanting "MVP" well after both teams had retired to their respective locker rooms for halftime.

His posterization of Embiid in the third quarter, meanwhile, left the Sixers big man as visibly defeated as you'll ever see. Even the usually stoic Leonard had to let out a visceral roar.

Quote of the game

"I didn't notice. I just saw them shake their bodies. I didn't pay attention to what the hell they were doing. But good for them. I don't care if what I do offends anybody. It's all about having fun. I don't care. I'm gonna do that, because I know I'm going to dominate." - Joel Embiid, when asked if he noticed Raptors fans - including Drake - mocking his Game 3 airplane celebration as he was jeered off the court in Game 5.

As for dominating, Embiid is averaging 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 blocks in the series while shooting 38 percent from the field and averaging 3.8 turnovers.

What to watch for

How does Embiid break through this funk?

He dominated in the 76ers' Game 3 win but has since been stonewalled thanks to an illness and Nurse's decision to match more of Embiid's minutes with Gasol's.

Between Games 1-3, Gasol was on the court for 57 of Embiid's 90 minutes or 63 percent of the time. In Games 4 and 5, Gasol matched 61 of Embiid's 67 minutes or 91 percent. If Embiid can't solve the strong, savvy veteran, or this infection, the Sixers won't solve the Raptors.