76ers vs. Timberwolves: Joel Embiid, Doc Rivers Asses the Loss

The 76ers came up short against the Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Throughout the first half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Saturday night battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it seemed a blowout was brewing in South Philly in favor of the visiting team.

As the Timberwolves faced a depleted Sixers team that missed three of their five starters, Minnesota looked to be taking advantage of Philadelphia’s unfortunate circumstances.

Going into halftime, the Sixers weren’t totally out of it, but they trailed 63-51 and were even down by as many as 20 points. While the Sixers’ offense came alive in the third quarter and fired off 33 points, their defense gave all of those points back.

“We didn’t play defense for three quarters,” said Sixers center Joel Embiid. "In the fourth, we went to zone, they didn’t know what to do and what to run against it. We just didn’t play defense for three quarters, and we put ourselves in a big hole. We were down 15, 20 most of the game.”

By the start of the fourth quarter, the Sixers trailed 97-84. However, Philadelphia wasn’t ready to waive the white flag. Instead, they made some key adjustments and found some of the Timberwolves’ key weak spots. 

“We just hung in there,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “We kept throwing out the score. We’re down eight, down seven, down six. That’s how you come back in games. I loved our fight. We had opportunities down the stretch. In the second half, I thought the zone really changed the game for us defensively. Thirty-three and thirty in the first half for them, eighty in the middle of the third quarter, and then we started to get some stops that allowed us to get out on breaks and get some easy buckets.”

Philadelphia’s fourth-quarter offensive attack was successful as they shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from three en route to a 25-point showing. Meanwhile, on defense, they forced eight turnovers and held Minnesota to just 15 points.

Once trailing by 20 points, the Sixers managed to get the game within a one-possession reach within the final seconds. Unfortunately, two failed offensive plays down the stretch left the Sixers coming up short.

“We should’ve won the game,” Embiid stated. . “We had a chance to go up one. De’Anthony made a huge play but just wasn’t able to finish it. Throughout the game, we really played with the game. We weren’t focused for three quarters. We gave them a huge lead. Like I said, it was a little too much to overcome. In the fourth quarter, we still had opportunities. We just didn’t execute at times the way we have been doing … Our offense just wasn’t there tonight as far as execution. We should’ve won that game.”

The Sixers nearly completed the comeback but ultimately collected a 112-109 loss. While a three-game win streak helped the Sixers get above .500 for the first time this season, Saturday’s defeat puts them right back with an 8-8 record ahead of the two-day break. 

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