76ers’ Doc Rivers Explains What Went Wrong vs. Rockets

What went wrong for the 76ers on Monday night in Houston? Doc Rivers weighs in.

Monday’s matchup, on paper, seemed like a great opportunity for the Philadelphia 76ers to bounce back from a two-game losing streak while welcoming James Harden back to the lineup after a month-long recovery from a tendon strain in his foot.

The Houston Rockets have talent on their roster and hope to have a bright future. Currently, they’re viewed as one of the NBA’s tanking squads. Going into Monday night’s matchup against the Sixers, the Rockets’ record was 6-17. They sat at the bottom of the Western Conference with the tanking San Antonio Spurs.

While the Sixers haven’t established a consistent rhythm yet this year, they were heavily favored to take down the Rockets in Houston on Monday. The first few minutes of action went just as anybody could’ve guessed, as Philadelphia got off to an immediate 10-0 run.

From then on, though, it was a struggle for the Sixers to walk all over their younger and less experienced opponent. 

Once in the lead by double digits, the Sixers trailed the Rockets by one point going into halftime. Then in the third quarter, Houston outscored the Sixers 34-29, allowing the Rockets to build a lead of as much as eight points.

The Rockets had control for the majority of the second half, but the Sixers battled back in the fourth quarter and outscored Houston 24-18. By the end of regulation, the Sixers and the Rockets were tied at 108 and heading into overtime. 

The Sixers looked to continue to ride the hot hand that was Joel Embiid in overtime. As Embiid had 35 points in 30 minutes on Monday, it only made sense to get him the ball in overtime. Embiid scored four of Philadelphia’s nine points in the free period. Unfortunately, the Rockets matched that production, forcing another overtime period.

Before the Sixers got there, Embiid collected his sixth foul, ending his night. Without Embiid, the Sixers drained two of their eight shots for six points in the second overtime. Houston managed to outscore the Sixers 15-6, finally declaring themselves the winners.

After the matchup, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers described Monday’s loss as a “giveaway.” 

“Way too many opportunities,” Rivers said. “We didn’t execute down the stretch on either end. Just a really disappointing loss.”

Houston collected its seventh win of the season by downing the Sixers 132-123. While Philadelphia was widely expected to win on Monday, self-inflicted mistakes against a young and high-energized team led to an upset loss.

“We fouled the entire game… Just bad, undisciplined fouls,” Rivers continued. “I don’t know how many times we fouled a three-point shooter. How many times you can foul a three-point shooter during the game? Whatever it was, we did that.”

The Sixers fouled the Rockets 34 times on Monday night. Embiid was the only player to foul out, but De’Anthony Melton and PJ Tucker were close as they each had five fouls of their own. While the Rockets had their fair share of fouls, they fouled seven fewer times than the Sixers.

“They looked us in the eye and beat us off the dribble the entire night,” Rivers finished. “We were late to helps, and number one, we just got to stop getting beat the entire game. Defensively, I thought we were not at our best tonight — clearly. I mean, more offensive rebounds and back cuts we gave up tonight. That hurt us. Then down the stretch offensively, I just thought we didn’t make the right plays.”

Offensive rebounding has been a significant concern for the Sixers lately. Just the other night in Memphis, the Sixers allowed one player to collect just as many offensive rebounds as Philly’s entire team. On Monday in Houston, the Sixers were dominated in the rebounding department once again.

As for execution down the stretch, the Sixers came up short in big moments. From the fourth quarter until the end of the second overtime period, the Sixers turned the ball over nine times. For being a team full of seasoned veterans against a younger squad, the Sixers shouldn’t have been on the losing end of a turnover battle in critical minutes. Unfortunately for them, they were, and it was costly. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.