PHILADELPHIA — A gentleman’s sweep by the hated Boston Celtics in 2018. A four-bounce, buzzer-beating heartbreaker to the Toronto Raptors a season later.
Sunday’s 103-96 Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals added to the list 76ers disappointments.
The Sixers were booed off the court in the final seconds. One fan even threw an object on the Wells Fargo Center court late in the game.
Yes, this was a bad loss. One that stung worse than the previous defeats because, as the top seed, the Sixers were expected to advance to the conference finals.
But they struggled down the stretch, especially after Hawks guard Trae Young woke up.
Young had a tough shooting night, missing 18 of his first 22 shot attempts. However, the Hawks point guard made a 13-footer to give Atlanta a 86-84 lead with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining. Then he assisted on an alley-oop to Clint Capela with 3:08 left to put the Hawks up, 90-87. Young then drained a 29-foot three-pointer over Ben Simmons to extend the lead to 93-87 at the 2:31-mark.
Then, with the Sixers down, 93-89, the Hawks went to a Hack-A-Ben. Simmons made one of two foul shots after being intentionally fouled to make it a 93-90 game. Then a layup by Tobias Harris pulled the Sixers within 93-92 with 1:10 left.
But Matisse Thybulle was called for a foul Kevin Huerter on a three-point attempt with 54 seconds left. Thybulle put his head in his hands after the foul was called. The Hawks guard made all three foul shots to give Atlanta a 96-92 lead. On the ensuing possession,Embiid’s turnover, his eighth of the game, led to a breakaway layup by Danilo Gallinari at the other end to make it 98-92.
After a Shake Milton acrobatic basket, Young added a foul shot to put the Hawks up, 99-94. Then Gallinari added a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a 101-94 lead with 25.7 seconds left.
Young finished with 21 points on 5-for-23 shooting to go with 10 assists.
Embiid led the Sixers with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Harris had 24 points and 14 rebounds, but made just 8 of 24 shots.
Simmons finished with five points, 13 assists. and eight rebounds. He attempted just four shots, making two, and for the fourth straight game, did not attempt a shot in the fourth quarter.
Getting out of the second round wasn’t their ultimate goal. Coach Doc Rivers stressed that on the eve of their series against the Hawks.
But an inability to get beyond the second round led to general manager Elton Brand admitting following last season that “The Process’ was a failure.
The Sixers lost in the second round to the Celtics in five games in 2018. A season later, Kawhi Leonard’s 15-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer lifted the Raptors to a 92-90 Game 7 victory. Then last season, the Sixers were swept by the Celtics in the first round.
Those successive endings led to the Sixers making a head-coaching change and tweaking the front office, which led to the hiring Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations.
So this postseason series was bigger than what Rivers will admit.
Sure, the Sixers finished with Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed for the first time since 2001. Yes, Joel Embiid was the MVP runner-up and Ben Simmons the runner-up for defensive player of the year. But none of that matters now that they lost to the Hawks Sunday night.
One can argue, the Sixers are the equivilent of the polished 1976 Chevy Chevette. Sure, it has a brand-new paint job, new rims and tires. But it was the same old Chevette with high mileage and engine trouble.
But was the not supposed to be situation with the Sixers looking to win a second-round series for just the second time in the franchise’s last 11 appearances, dating back to 1986. They beat the Raptors in seven games in 2001 en route to finishing as NBA Finals runners-up.
On Sunday night, Embiid was feeling it early on.
The center flexed on an Hawks defender after muscling his way to a clutch basket. Then he gave an “I Got This” stare to the fans at the end of the first quarter.
Yes, the four-time All-Star was in a groove.
Embiid finished the quarter with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting to go with four rebounds. His weakness came at the foul line where he made just 3 of 6 shots. Harris was the Sixers’ second-leading scorer with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.
With those two leading the way, the Sixers took a 28-25 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter was one Harris and the Sixers would like to have back.
The Sixers were outscored 23-18 thanks in large part to horrid shooting. Harris missed all three of his shots to score one point in the quarter. As a whole, the Sixers shot 35% and went 1-for-7 from the three-point line.
Seth Curry kept them in the game, however, by scoring eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the quarter. He also made their only three-pointer.
The Hawks went on to outscore the Sixers, 28-25, in the third quarter to take a 76-71 cushion into the fourth quarter.
Sunday’s game marks his NBA-leading 15th Game 7 as a coach.
The 59-year-old is 6-9 in Game 7s, including a 6-5 home record.
