The Toronto Raptors have an opportunity to punch a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night in Game 6 of their second-round series.

You can watch all the action starting at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT on the TSN Network and streaming on TSN Direct or listen on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto.

Here are some interesting numbers and stats heading into tonight’s all-important matchup.

Stat courtesy of TSN’s Kevin Gibson.

 

Kawhi in elite company

There’s regular season Kawhi Leonard and then there’s playoff Kawhi.

The first-year Raptor is averaging 31.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 57.4 per cent shooting over 10 games this postseason and has been the best player in the Association this spring.

Here are some other eye-popping numbers from the 27-year-old native of Los Angeles.

  • Leonard has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games, one game away from tying Vince Carter for a Raptors playoff record.
  • He’s joined LeBron James as the only player in the last three decades to average over 30 points per game on 55 per cent shooting in the first 10 games of a postseason.
  • Leonard has four 30-point games against the Sixers. Michael Jordan (1990), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970, 1980), Rick Barry (1967) and Oscar Robertson (1964) are the only players in history to accomplish this feat against Philadelphia in a single series.
  • Toronto has outscored Philadelphia by 46 while Leonard is on the court and have been outscored by 18 when he’s taking a rest.
  • Shooting 88 per cent on open shots and 49 per cent while contested.

 

The rest of the story

Believe it or not there’s more to this series than Toronto’s superstar player.

The Raptors and 76ers have had plenty of interesting storylines throughout the first five games including the health of Philly’s superstar Joel Embiid, the Raptors’ lack of bench productivity and large swings of emotions.

Check out some other interesting numbers ahead of Game 6.

Raptors

  • Raptors have outscored the 76ers by 52 fast break points.
  • According to Elias Sports Bureau, 19 teams in history have dropped Game 5 by 25 or more points and none of them have rallied back to win the series.  
  • The Raptors are 3-5 all-time in Game 6s.

76ers

  • The 76ers’ 36-point loss in Game 5 is the second-worst defeat in their playoff history, with the worst being against the Boston Celtics, who beat them by 40 points back in 1982.
  • Joel Embiid has scored less than 15 points in back-to-back games for just the third time in his career and first time in the playoffs.
  • According to Second Spectrum, Embiid has posted up eight times over the last two contests and has no shot attempts, points or assists on those plays.
  • The 76ers are averaging 39.2 PPG in the paint this series after averaging 58.4 PPG in the paint against the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round.