PHILADELPHIA—Maybe it was too easy to think ahead. Maybe the big ideas — Milwaukee in the conference final, and maybe even an NBA final that might not be a death sentence — crowded out the moment, in the noise.
It’s more likely that Philadelphia can be this good, and this series is exactly this tight. The Toronto Raptors had a chance on Thursday night to eliminate the 76ers, and instead repeated too many of the mistakes of Game 3, and Game 2. This second-round series has been a tug-of-war: The teams have now exchanged home blowouts, and road wins that looked like they were played with rocks, and now home blowouts again.