Doc Rivers blasts Sixers for being outworked by Hawks in Game 4 loss
The Philadelphia 76ers had a big chance to go up 3-1 in their Round 2 series with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, but they could not seal the deal as they fell on the road 103-100. The series is now 2-2 as the scene shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Wednesday.
In the second half, the Hawks rallied from a 13-point deficit Philadelphia’s largest lead was 18, and it was due to their work on the glass. Atlanta had six offensive rebounds in the second half led by John Collins who had three by himself in order to get the job done.
On top of that, the Sixers only had seven assists after halftime and coach Doc Rivers was not happy with his team.
“We stopped passing,” lamented Rivers. “I thought we started the game off that way. Then we got back to the ball movement, then we went back to hero basketball, basically, everybody wanted to be the hero instead of just trusting the team, trusting each other. When you do that, you usually lose. Especially when the other team outworks you the whole [expletive] game, and that’s what they did today.”
On top of having only seven assists, the Sixers had seven turnovers and that hurt Philadelphia’s chances of even finding a way to get open looks.
“Give the Hawks credit,” said Rivers. “I thought they hit, I thought they knocked us around the floor, I thought Collins was the toughest man on the floor, all night. You’re going to see everybody else’s numbers, but I thought Collins was the guy. Just hitting the glass all night and keeping things alive. I just thought they were the more physical, tougher team, and it wasn’t close.”
Atlanta just seemed to want it more in this one. They outworked Philadelphia on the glass, they bothered them defensively, they fed off each other’s energy, and they were able to come away with an important win for them.
“I think we definitely got outworked out there,” said Tobias Harris who led Philadelphia with 20 points. “They got to 50/50 balls, offensive boards, all the way down. Give them credit, they, second half, they did a good job of just defending, making us miss and getting out and getting some looks out there and then that hurt us.”
It was a confusing effort after they had built up an 18-point lead and when the Hawks came back to continue to fight, the Sixers could not muster up anything to swing back.
“I couldn’t tell you why, but we needed to move the ball more,” said Ben Simmons. “Play team ball, get good looks, we came out too sluggish. They punched us, we didn’t punch back, that’s what it is.”
This was a big chance for Philadelphia to take a 3-1 series lead with them back home, but they were not able to capitalize on the opportunity. They had a big lead, they had the Hawks on the ropes, and despite the struggles of superstar Joel Embiid, they were not able to get it done.
“We missed so many opportunities,” Rivers finished. “It was live, I can’t wait to watch the film, but my eyes told me that we blew a golden opportunity tonight.”
The team will now have to get ready for Game 5 back at home on Wednesday.
