Raptors unruffled by magnitude of the moment

The morning after the Toronto Raptors' heartbreaking overtime loss to Philadelphia that dumped them into a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series hole, coach Nick Nurse had a simple message for his team.

TORONTO – The morning after the Toronto Raptors’ heartbreaking overtime loss to Philadelphia that dumped them into a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series hole, coach Nick Nurse had a simple message for his team.

“If somebody could it it, it’d be us,” he told them. “We have nothing to lose.”

The task is anything but simple. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. But the Raptors are already halfway there.

They’ve stared down elimination twice and emerged victorious both times. And they carry an unruffled sense of confidence into Thursday’s Game 6 against the visiting 76ers.

“We just knew that getting one (win) could get us back in this thing and give us a chance to keep it going,” Nurse said. “Listen, everybody was disappointed about the 3-0 start and it felt a little heavy for a while. But when we got back to the film room the next day, I liked the body language, I liked what I was hearing communication-wise and I felt that we were ready to go.”

“We’re still in a hole. Like I said when it was 3-0, we’ve just got to get one here, and now we still just need one, still just need one . . . two games, three games later.”

A win at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday would make Toronto just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after being down 3-0. They’re already the 14th team in history to force a Game 6 after their decisive 103-88 on Monday in Philadelphia.

“I love playing in this atmosphere,” rookie Scottie Barnes said. “It’s just crazy, it gives you energy, great to play in.”