Sixers discuss importance of keeping composure, not getting techs
The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough time on Saturday night in a 122-112 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. They scored pretty well; they shot 50.6% from the floor and they were 10-for-26 from deep. But they had a tough third quarter that factored in the loss.
Another factor was the team lost its composure. They had four technical fouls. Dwight Howard picked up two techs less than two minutes into the fourth, which caused him to be tossed. This was the second straight game he was ejected, and it hurts the most at this moment due to the lack of big men the team has.
“I think he’s a pro; he understands that,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We always talk about technical fouls. I didn’t single out Dwight, honestly, I just said as a team, we had five which means more than one guy was frustrated. It means a lot of guys were frustrated tonight and a good defense will do that to you at times.”
Tobias Harris picked up a technical in the fourth quarter when Philadelphia was trying to mount a comeback. That led to Paul George making the tech, Kawhi Leonard making a jumper and Terance Mann following with a layup. That gave Los Angeles a lot of momentum.
“As far as the technical fouls, this is something that we can’t get into, really,” said Harris. “Assessing myself, fourth-quarter technical fouls are unacceptable for what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to build.”
The Sixers pride themselves on being a composed team, and that was not the case on Saturday. They have to be better in that respect, and they will have their next opportunity on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets.
“As a team, it’s just important not to get techs in the fourth quarter,” Harris finished. “First, you want to just keep our composure and leveling out what’s going on.”
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