Doc Rivers Loved Sixers’ Fight vs. Grizzlies

After an uninspiring first quarter performance, Doc Rivers loved what he saw out of the Sixers on Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers evidently had some post-All-Star break rust on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. As they tipped off a difficult stretch beginning with a matchup against the Western Conference’s second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, the Sixers were in for a physical battle.

The Grizzlies’ physicality clearly bothered the Sixers in the first half. Jacking up 46 shots, nine more than Memphis, Philadelphia drained just 33 percent of their shots. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies got a huge boost from Desmond Bane’s sharpshooting from deep.

Through the first half, the Sixers were down 59-47 and trailed by as many as 17 points.

One thing we’ve learned time and time again about this year’s Sixers, they don’t go down easy. And once again, the Sixers proved that an early 17-point deficit wouldn’t put them away for good.

“We hang in there,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “We kept fighting.”

The Sixers improved their shot-making in the third quarter, producing on 44 percent of their attempts. Meanwhile, they held the Grizzlies to just 7-23 from the field. As a result, the Sixers outscored the Grizzlies 28-22, keeping themselves within reach of the lead.

“We had nothing. The first quarter was as bad as we could play defensively,” Rivers continued. “They literally scored, I felt like every time. And then we fouled every time. They got to score and then set their defense up for the entire first half. That’s what it felt like. Then in the second half, we just moved the ball.”

Offensively, the Sixers turned it up in the second half and outscored the Grizzlies 63-46. Defensively, they dominated, holding Desmond Bane to just four points after a red-hot start and limiting Ja Morant to shooting 23 percent from the field in the final two quarters. 

“They’re a long team, and they challenge you to pass, and they challenge you to execute. And I don’t think we executed worth a darn in the first half,” Rivers finished. “In the second half, every timeout, we got something. We ran stuff. We executed. We were in the right spot. We trusted the pass, and that’s big for us.”

It took until the final few minutes of the game before the Sixers evened the score. Once they got out in front, that was it for the Grizzlies. With some big shots from James Harden and Tobias Harris and elite rim protection by Joel Embiid, the Sixers completed the comeback and snatched a 110-105 win.

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