Philadelphia 76ers had experienced a disappointing defeat before head coach Doc Rivers explained what went wrong for his team during the fourth quarter. Rivers, who saw his team scoring only 15 points during the fourth quarter and conceding 29, blamed James Harden for the Sixers’ stagnant offense in the last part of the game.
“Well, they didn’t struggle,” Rivers told reporters. “They didn’t get a lot of shots. You know, in their defense. I think during that stretch it was more James than them. So… yeah it’s just a tough night.”
Philly managed just 15 points in the final 12 minutes on 6-of-16 from the field and 0-of-6 from the 3-point line. It was a tough game for Harden, who shot 4-of-15 from the field for 18 points. Joel Embiid continue his MVP-level of play, finishing with 37 points and 15 rebounds in the Sixers’ second consecutive loss.
“I thought offensively, we really just stood around, their switching we just played outside and didn’t move the ball as a group,” Rivers stated. “We were awful in the first half, too. We played with very little life tonight, didn’t play together tonight at all, that’s something we’ve been doing. It’s just one of those nights, but tough one.”
The 76ers’ bench was outscored 38-9 to the rebuilding Pistons, and that’s a big indicator of why Philadelphia lost the game. Harden was the second part of the problem with him being passive in the offensive end. He avoided attacking the paint, while he was just chucking contented threes, especially in the minutes without Embiid.
The Sixers will need to figure out quickly their offense ahead of the postseason as the team will enter the playoffs with championship aspiration. Doc Rivers will likely need to find out a better game plan regarding Harden’s use and Harden will have to be more agressive getting into the paint and creating for himself and others.
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