Doc Rivers

Simmons will not feature in Wednesday's opener against the New Orleans Pelicans – the three-time All-Star suspended by the 76ers due to "conduct detrimental to the team" following reports he was ejected from practice after Rivers grew frustrated with his lack of engagement.

76ers guard Simmons has demanded a trade amid criticism following last season's shock playoff exit to the Atlanta Hawks and was absent from Philadelphia for the first two weeks of preseason work before showing up on October 11 to begin fulfilling COVID-19 protocols that would allow him to re-join the championship-chasing franchise.

Speculation over Simmons' future is now set to intensify amid reported interest from the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers.

Ahead of the 76ers' clash with the Pelicans, Rivers told reporters: "It's a predicament that we're in and that part is no fun. It really isn't.

"We get to play right now and Ben is not. I want Ben to be playing. That's his job."

Simmons – an elite defender who signed a five-year, $177.2million contract extension in 2019 – and his shooting problems were laid bare during the 2021 postseason with the top-seeded 76ers, who were eliminated in the semi-finals.

The 25-year-old had no fourth-quarter field-goal attempts in his last four games of the playoffs against the Hawks last season. He is the only NBA player in the last 20 seasons to have four consecutive postseason games with no field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter during a season in which he was an All-Star, according to Stats Perform.

Simmons averaged just 10.1 field-goal attempts in 2020-21 – a career low, which dropped to 7.9 in the playoffs. It was the same story with his scoring as it dropped to a career-worst 14.3 points per game and 11.9 in the postseason – both career lows.

Then there is Simmons and free throws. He was exposed by rival teams as they regularly sent him to the line, with the Melbourne-born guard making just 25 of 73 shots in the 2020-21 playoffs. His 34.2 free-throw percentage is the lowest ever in a single postseason.

"Obviously you don't want any of those things. You get a lot of texts, 'great job' and all this stuff and it's not," Rivers said. "I don't think people understand... you want all your players to do well.

"You cheer for your players. Even when they're in a tough spot, you want it to go well for them, you do. When you're put in positions like [Tuesday], it's no fun."

Philadelphia – who finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season – have won five of their last six games against New Orleans, though the Pelicans claimed their last home meeting. Of those six games, five were decided by seven or fewer points.

Seth Curry shot 45.0 per cent from beyond the arc for the 76ers last season – his third consecutive campaign shooting at least 45.0 percent from three-point range, all with different teams. He is the fourth qualified player in NBA history with three straight seasons of 45.0-percent shooting from downtown, according to Stats Perform.

Simmons scored 17 points to complement MVP candidate Joel Embiid, who led the way with 39 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 123-117 victory over short-handed rivals the Brooklyn Nets.

The 76ers almost surrendered a 22-point lead before holding to improve to 38-17 at the top of the east, ahead of the star-studded Nets (37-18), who were without Kevin Durant, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin.

"We want that one seed," Simmons told reporters post-game.

"We have a pretty tough schedule coming up with Milwaukee and the Clippers, but I believe we're more than capable of it."

76ers head coach Doc Rivers attempted to rest his two stars in the fourth quarter against a depleted Brooklyn team, but All-Star duo Simmons and Embiid had to return late and close out the win. 

"They should not have had to come back in," Rivers said. 

Philadelphia were not about to risk letting the game slip away considering the stakes.

The 76ers are now 21-5 at home and remaining on top in the east would keep them there throughout the early rounds of the playoffs. 

Embiid had his 11th game this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. It is tied with Denver Nuggets star and fellow MVP contender Nikola Jokic for the second most in the NBA, only behind Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"That fourth quarter, that come back, it was just weird," Embiid said. "I will say, I felt like I sat too long and I kinda lost my rhythm. Them fronting and trapping had nothing to do with how our play in that stretch when I came back.

"We just didn't have the same physicality that we had for the first three quarters."

Should the 76ers meet the Nets in the playoffs, Philadelphia know they will see a far different team than they did Wednesday, but he is not concerned. 

"We know exactly who they are and they know exactly who we are," Rivers told reporters.

"When the playoffs start, it's a whole new beast. We'll be ready for them and I'm sure they'll be ready for us."

That is according to Tyrese Maxey, who labelled team-mate Embiid as a "leader", though the Sixers secured a 4-0 series sweep of the Nets without him on Saturday.

Embiid led the league for points per game in the regular season (33.1), but suffered a knee sprain in Game 3 against Brooklyn.

While a series comeback still seemed unlikely, the Nets had some hope on Saturday when they led by eight at half-time at Barclays Center, only for the Sixers to fight back and take the game 96-88.

Philadelphia will face either the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semis, which the Celtics lead 2-1 ahead of Game 4 on Sunday, and Maxey hopes Embiid can be back in time.

"It starts with Joel," the Sixers guard said. "He's the leader of this team and for him, he takes the guys before the game and he told us good luck and we appreciate him for that. And we need him to get healthy."

Tobias Harris top-scored with 25 on Saturday, while James Harden had an impressive outing with 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and he echoed Maxey's comments.

"Obviously, today was big for us, so we can get [the] big fella healthy," Harden said. "That's priority number one."

Coach Doc Rivers had explained the situation with Embiid before the game, but clarified further afterwards, suggesting the Cameroonian perhaps has a "50 per cent" chance of making it for the next round.

"I just don't know," he said. "I would say, right now, it's probably the same percentage I said before the game... probably 50 per cent, at best."

Embiid sat out Saturday's 106-104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies due to right knee soreness, and the three-time NBA All-Star would have been absent again if Sunday's clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder was not postponed.

But Embiid took part in practice on Tuesday and Rivers is bracing for the 76ers center to make a comeback as two of the Eastern Conference's best teams meet midweek.

"I do expect him to go," Rivers said. "He was in and out of practice today, we didn't let him do a lot of stuff, but he looked pretty good."

Embiid – an early MVP candidate – is averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the 76ers (9-5) this season.

The 26-year-old has relied on his jump shot even more this season but has instead taken most of them inside the arc.

Embiid – whose 76ers are 9-2 when he plays and 0-3 without him this term – has seen his jump shot field-goal percentage rise 8.2 per cent to 45.6 per cent in 2020-21.

The 76ers have been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, with Philadelphia left shorthanded since Seth Curry's positive COVID-19 test on January 7.

Philadelphia and Oklahoma City were scheduled to meet at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday, but the 76ers did not have the required eight players available because of contact tracing with the team.

But the 76ers – minus Curry – were back to full strength for Tuesday's practice, much to the delight of Rivers.

"It was nice," said Rivers. "We're not one of those teams that have the luxury of being together for several years. We have so many new bodies, a new system, new coach, everything.

"To have all those games and no practice and then to have all those guys out, and even your shoot arounds are not what you expect them to be, it absolutely has affected us."

Rivers added: "Even on a couple of days we have a somewhat of a practice, we didn't have enough guys to practice. Today was a day we had enough guys, we can change, we can sub in practice and put different units on the floor."

Embiid is a likely contender, alongside Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, for the NBA's MVP award.

But with just five days of the regular season remaining, the Sixers star made an almighty push for the gong with a remarkable display against the Celtics.

Embiid scored 52 points, over half of Philadelphia's total in a 103-101 victory on Tuesday, while adding 13 rebounds and six assists.

The 29-year-old is the first player in the stop-clock era to score more than half of his team's points and shoot 80 per cent from the field.

Wilt Chamberlain, meanwhile, was the only other player to have previously shot 80 per cent from the field and record at least 50 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

For Rivers, it means job done in the MVP race.

"The man just scored half our points, in an NBA game," Rivers said. 

"I'm biased, but the MVP race is over.

"We did so many things wrong, but what we did right was Joel Embiid."

Embiid's team-mate James Harden echoed Rivers' sentiment, adding: "Joel should win it.

"He's been in contention for it the last few years. He led the league in scoring last year. It looks like he's going to lead the league in scoring this year.

"We're the third seed in the East. He's been consistent all year."

When the comments of Rivers and Harden were put to him, Embiid quipped: "They're probably right, but we got bigger goals.

"We understand we got a chance, but it's not going to be easy. For me, it was kind of disappointing because we found so many ways to lose the game, and that's on all of us.

"I'm part of it. I could've been better. You know, I had a couple of dumb plays. I could've been better, and we could've been better as a team.

"Like I said, we got bigger goals in mind, but we got to be better than that."

As for how to stop Embiid, who is second in the NBA for points this season (2,162) and leads the way for points per game (33.3), Celtics guard Derrick White is non-plussed.

"I think the whole league's trying to figure that out right now," said White. "So, if you got any ideas, I think every other NBA team would like to know."

Harden starred against his former franchise, scoring 23 points on seven-of-13 three-point shooting with 13 assists.

The Nets put attention into MVP candidate Joel Embiid throughout, restricting him to 26 points, but the 76ers stepped up elsewhere, making a franchise-record 21 three-pointers in a playoff game.

"James, I thought that was one of his best games as a 'catcher' where he was calling the perfect game," Rivers told reporters about Harden.

"He's in shape, he's healthy. He's confident in how we play. Last year, even when he was playing, he was like 'am I doing the right thing here?'. There was a lot of good there."

Rivers pointed out that the 76ers also generated 19 more shots than the Nets (89-70), while Harden acknowledged the Nets' tactics to limit Embiid's tactics but hailed his side's shooting, going at 48.8 per cent from beyond the arc. Fifteen of the 76ers' 21 triples were uncontested.

"I mean, he's the MVP," Harden said of Embiid. "So it's like, would you rather him score 40, or live with us making shots? Either way, it's fine. We'll be ready either way."

Embiid's 26 points came on seven-of-15 field-goal shooting with five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The MVP contender was full of praise for Harden's impact.

"He's the best playmaker in the league, by far," Embiid said. "But we don't want him settling. I don't want him to fall in love with just that. We need him to be aggressive, and he was today.

"I think that's the key - not just being a playmaker, just being aggressive, going downhill and creating for himself and everyone else."

Embiid missed Game 4 on Saturday as the 76ers completed a 4-0 sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, offering the MVP candidate an opportunity for rest ahead of their next series against either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.

The 76ers center is yet to practice ahead of Game 1 and head coach Doc Rivers said he was undergoing doctor's examination on Thursday.

"I'm just going to wait," Rivers told reporters after Thursday's team practice. "They'll call me later and we'll see where he's at."

Embiid appeared banged up during Game 3 against the Nets, taking a series of falls, before missing Game 4 which the 76ers won 96-88.

Trae Young's game-winning three-pointer clinched Atlanta's 119-117 win on Tuesday, extending the Hawks-Celtics series to a sixth game, allowing the 76ers more time to recover after their sweep.

That Conference Semifinals series would have started on Saturday if it had concluded on Tuesday, with Rivers offering an insight into Embiid's status when asked about that factor.

"If we played on Saturday, I don't know how realistic it would have been, so that's a good thing," Rivers said.

The 76ers went 11-5 in Embiid's absence during the regular season, providing Rivers hope that they could triumph without him.

"Just look at our record all year," Rivers said. "Look at our record last year and the year before. Each year we’ve gotten better when guys are injured.

"Last year we were better. This year, we were way better. That's what gives me confidence."

Embiid averaged a league-high 33.1 points across 66 games in the regular season but was down at 20.0 points during the first round series.

He also averaged 10.2 rebounds and matched a career-high 4.2 assists per game during the regular season.

Simmons was the subject of trade rumours as the 76ers were linked to Harden, whose move from the Houston Rockets to the Nets was confirmed on Thursday.

But, after the 76ers' 125-108 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday, the 24-year-old said it was just part of the game.

"This is a business, things like that happen," Simmons told a news conference.

"The only thing I can control is how I approach my workouts, the games and my day-to-day things.

"I'm just trying to be professional and do the right thing and help my team get wins."

Asked if he was happy to be in Philadelphia, Simmons responded: "Of course."

Simmons posted a triple-double of 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in the win over the Heat.

It was his 30th triple-double in the NBA. Only Oscar Robertson (75 games) and Magic Johnson (190) have managed that quicker than Simmons (228).

Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers was delighted with Simmons' performance as the 76ers improved to 9-4.

"I thought tonight is who he has to be every night. I loved the way he played. I loved how he played under control, didn't force it, took gaps when they were there," he said.

"He was a presence on the floor for us and not just on the offensive end but on the defensive end as well and that takes us to a different level when he plays like that."

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Rudy Gobert amassed 12 points and 18 rebounds as the Timberwolves bounced back from Saturday's one-point loss at Sacramento and dropped the Thunder to third place in the tightly bunched conference standings.

The Denver Nuggets moved a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and remained a half-game behind Minnesota with Monday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Oklahoma City had erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit to take a 97-96 lead on two Shai Gilgeous-Alexander free throws with 2:43 left, but Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to start a pivotal 9-0 spurt.

The Thunder would miss their next four shots as the Timberwolves began pulling away. Edwards followed McDaniels' trey with a running dunk and McDaniels scored on a tip-in before Towns capped the run with two free throws that put Minnesota up 105-97 with 15.5 seconds to go. 

Minnesota owned a 62-52 advantage nearing the midway mark of the third quarter before the Thunder seized momentum with an 11-0 run. Gilgeous-Alexander had six points and Jalen Williams scored the last five of the flurry, which gave Oklahoma City a 63-62 edge with five minutes left in the period.

The Thunder, who were coming off a stunning 120-104 loss to the NBA-worst Detroit Pistons on Sunday, received 37 points and eight assists from Gilgeous-Alexander and 20 points from Williams. 

Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City's third-leading scorer at 17 points per game, was held to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting, however, as the Timberwolves finished with a 46-34 point advantage in the paint.

Jokic has another triple-double as Nuggets spoil Rivers' debut with Bucks

Jamal Murray scored 35 points and Nikola Jokić posted his 14th triple-double of the season to power the Denver Nuggets to a 113-107 win over Milwaukee in Doc Rivers' first game as the Bucks' head coach.

Jokic compiled 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists to add to his league-leading triple-double count and help the defending NBA champions keep pace with first-place Minnesota in the West. The Nuggets have now won five of their last six games.

Rivers, who coached the Boston Celtics to an NBA title during the 2007-08 season, was hired shortly after the Bucks dismissed Adrian Griffin on Jan. 23 despite sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record. Assistant Joe Prunty coached Milwaukee's last three games and went 2-1.

The veteran coach's tenure started off strong as the Bucks jumped out to a 24-11 lead midway through the first quarter, though the Nuggets ended the period on a 12-0 run to cut their deficit to 26-25 entering the second. 

Denver gradually asserted control and owned an 84-75 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but the Bucks hit three straight 3-pointers during a 13-2 spurt that put them back ahead with under nine minutes to play.

The game remained tight until the Nuggets pulled away with an 8-0 run, which Murray capped with a jumper that gave Denver a 106-97 lead with 3:17 to go.

Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Milwaukee with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting along with 12 rebounds, while Brook Lopez had 19 points and Damian Lillard finished with 18 in the loss. 

Suns bounce back by handing Heat seventh straight loss

The Phoenix Suns kept rolling behind a balanced attack and strong defence that resulted in a 118-105 victory over the reeling Miami Heat, the seventh consecutive loss for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Eric Gordon scored 23 points off the bench to lead six Phoenix players in double figures in a game the Suns led by as much as 28 points en route to stopping a two-game losing streak.

The Suns also got 22 points from Devin Booker and 20 from Kevin Durant, with both stars finishing with eight rebounds and seven assists each.

Miami went 14 of 36 from 3-point range but was stonewalled from inside the arc, shooting a subpar 39.6 per cent on 2-point attempts in this latest defeat. The Heat have lost seven straight for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 26 points and recent acquisition Terry Rozier had 21 in his fourth game with the Heat.

Miami shot just 35.4 per cent in the first half as the Suns built a 62-49 lead at the break, and its shooting woes continued as Phoenix extended the margin in the third quarter. 

Booker had 12 points and the Suns shot over 68 per cent for the period to open up a commanding 100-74 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

Just five years since the 76ers recorded a 10-win season, a 122-97 triumph over the Orlando Magic on Friday secured top billing in the East for the first time in 20 years.

Seth Curry put up 20 points while Joel Embiid contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds as the 76ers made certain of home-court advantage for the playoffs.

Head coach Rivers was keen to talk up what his team have done, while also ensuring minds stay focused on the main prize: a first NBA title for the franchise since 1983.

"It's an accomplishment. I don't want to downplay it, but I told our guys to enjoy, I don't want to call it a moment, I told them to enjoy the second, because it's not what we want, but it's part of what you can get on the way to what you want," Rivers said.

"I think for this team, as young as we are, to have home-court [advantage] is really important. It's nice to have. We should feel proud of it."

The last time the 76ers topped the Eastern Conference ahead of the postseason, Philadelphia – led by MVP Allen Iverson – went on to reach the NBA Finals, though they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1.

Philadelphia have not advanced that far since, failing to make it beyond the conference semi-finals in 2003, 2012, 2018 and 2019, while they were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics last season.

The 76ers round out their regular season with another clash against the Magic on Sunday.

Maxey, who prior to Friday had only ever scored more than 33 points once – a 39-point effort against the Denver Nuggets as a rookie – set a new personal-best with 44 points against the Raptors.

He was incredibly efficient, hitting 15-of-20 from the field and nine-of-12 from three-point range, while also leading the 76ers with eight rebounds and chipping in four assists.

Former league MVP James Harden was happy to cede the responsibility to his less-experienced running-mate, finishing with just 11 points, four rebounds and four assists as he assumed a supporting role.

It was also a breakout performance for De'Anthony Melton, who was given his first start in a 76ers uniform after being acquired in the offseason and made his presence felt defensively, snatching five steals to go with his 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Speaking to the media after the game, Maxey said his big night was simply the product of the offense running smoothly.

"It was [about] getting good looks," he said. "We got to the paint, sprayed off for threes, got in transition, and once you get stops, the game becomes way easier honestly, for not just myself, but for all of us.

"We were getting to the paint and driving and kicking, creating, generating offense for everybody. That’s why I got open threes, why [Melton] got open threes, Tobias [Harris] got open threes. 

"I just know how good we can be, I know how talented we are, but we’ve got to match our talent with the energy that we play with, and defensive tenacity.

"Tonight we knew it was going to be extremely hard without Joel. That made guys step up, that made guys do things they don’t normally do."

Teammate Matisse Thybulle was thrilled to see Maxey shine, but he said it was no surprise.

"Every time he gets an opportunity, he does something big with it," he said. "You could even take it back to the COVID games we were looking at our bench, like who’s gonna be the one to step up? 

"Tyrese Maxey did – and it’s like, time after time – Tyrese is the one that steps up, shows up big and he does it, obviously, as an individual, but for the team, and we all benefit from it."

Head coach Doc Rivers also enjoyed the show, and he pointed to it as an indicator of how well the 76ers adjusted without their star center.

"I just think he’s a heck of a basketball player," he said. "We came into the game knowing Joel wasn’t gonna play… we talked to [the rest of the team] this morning about trying to find matchups and then spacing the floor and attacking.

"They are a great help-defensive team and they can’t stop it. Us getting into the paint sucked everybody in, and that’s where we got shots. I thought we were ready for that and I thought we did a good job."

After starting the season with three consecutive losses, the 76ers have now won two of their past three to take a 2-4 record into their road trip against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

On a dark day for the United States, thousands of Trump backers descended on Washington for a protest rally, refusing to accept the result of November's election that saw Joe Biden sweep to power.

Two weeks out from Biden's inauguration, many violent protesters breached security and accessed the Capitol, causing carnage and destruction as they appeared to go largely unchallenged.

There were a number of casualties, with four dead including a woman who was shot, while reports said a number of explosive devices were discovered.

Washington Wizards star Westbrook said: "It's very unfortunate to see. If those roles were reversed, if those were African-Americans, black people, it would be totally different."

He said the chaos was "just crazy, almost like a movie", and team-mate Bradley Beal agreed it was hard to stomach the scenes, given his view that police took a far less lenient approach to protesters during last year's Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

"It's very disheartening in a lot of ways - a lack of sense of urgency to respond to what was going on, versus protesters at Black Lives Matter over the summer," Beal said.

"The people who were invading our Capitol, that's unheard of and it's disheartening this is where we're at as a country."

Veteran Philadelphia 76ers coach Rivers called the insurgency "pretty disturbing" but vowed that "democracy will prevail".

"It shows a lot, though," Rivers said. "When you saw the [Black Lives Matter] protests in the summer, you saw the riots or more the police and the national guard and the army. And then you see this and you saw nothing.

"It basically proves the point about a privileged life in a lot of ways. I'll say it because I don’t think a lot of people want to: could you imagine today if those were all black people storming the Capitol and what would have happened?

"So that to me is a picture that’s worth a thousand words for all of us to see and probably something for us to reckon with again."

Tennis great King, a long-time activist for equality in sport and society, added on Twitter: "If the rioters storming the Capitol building today were Black and Brown people, the police response would be much different."

Footballer Megan Rapinoe became embroiled in a war of words with Trump during USA's triumph at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

Looking at footage of how seemingly easily the protesters were able to break into the Capitol, Rapinoe offered her opinion, writing: "This is crazy, how did they even get through the..... ohhhhh it was opened for them."

Trump had addressed the crowds earlier in the day, forcefully standing by his view that he was fraudulently robbed of an election win.

In the hours after the Capitol was cleared, Congress confirmed Biden's victory.

Richard Sherman, the San Francisco 49ers cornerback, described the rioters as "terrorists".

He wrote on Twitter: "Never thought Americans would let terrorists into the capital without a fight....sad day. There are certain things my brain could never imagine.... and one of them is black ppl storming a government building and taking things without deadly consequences. But that’s just my brain."

It was not just Sherman's brain thinking along those lines, though. Far from it.

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard took the same stance, saying: "You just see the privilege, the privilege in America. "It's sad to see, because if any of us was out there, I think we would've been tear-gassed, Maced, probably gunshots, you know?"

And American track and field legend Michael Johnson said the scenes were only to be expected, given the nature of the Trump presidency.

"The alarms were sounded for four years. Republicans ignored them. Many in the media ignored them and normalized dangerous behavior," Johnson wrote on Twitter.

"Sadly, today it all came to be. Shameful! This president and his supporters. Shame on you! And take responsibility!

"People on Twitter (of course) literally equating BLM protesters fighting for justice and equality to White Supremacist Trump supporters (supposed Patriots) gleefully and violently desecrating America's oldest and greatest institutions of democracy. Sadly, this is typical America."

The 76ers are a team under pressure against the Toronto Raptors in their first round series, as they strive to avoid the dubious honour of becoming the first team to ever blow a 3-0 series lead.

After controlling the first three fixtures, the 76ers fell by eight points in Game 4, and 15 points in Game 5 as star Joel Embiid battles a thumb injury that will likely require surgery once Philadelphia's season is over.

Rivers, who won the 2008 NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, pushed back when questioned about his reputation in the playoffs.

"Well, it's easy to use me as an example," he said "But I wish y'all would tell the whole story with me. All right?

"My Orlando team [in 2003] was the eighth seed. No one gives me credit for getting up against the [Detroit] Pistons, who won the title. 

"That was an eighth seed. I want you to go back and look at that roster. I dare you to go back and look at that roster. And you would say, 'What a hell of a coaching job.' Really.

"I mean, the Clipper team [in 2015] that we lost 3-1, Chris Paul didn't play the first two games, and was playing on one leg, and we didn't have home court. 

"And then the last one [when the Clippers lost to the Denver Nuggets in 2020], to me, is the one we blew. That's the one I took. We blew that. 

"And that was in the bubble. And anything can happen in the bubble. There's no home court. Game 7 would have been in LA."

After highlighting his most famous playoff shortcomings, Rivers insisted it is not a theme, and sometimes it is just the way the cookie crumbles.

"But, it just happens," he said. "So I would say with me... some of it is, I gotta do better, always.

"I always take my own responsibility. And then some of it is, circumstances happen. This one, let's win it, and we don't have to talk about it.

"Being up 3-0, especially 3-0, I would say that [teams feel differently].

"A lot of teams don't win those games. The Celtics are the only one that won that game [in the first round of this year's playoffs]. Everyone else lost that game.

"From a coaching standpoint, you hate that, because you feel like, 'Let's just take care of it.' Then you get to Game 5 the other night, and [Toronto] played better. 

"We didn't play well. We didn't play with a sense of urgency. So clearly now, I think both teams have kind of served notice and both teams have the other team's attention.

"If you don't have that, then we're all in trouble."

Rivers became the 10th NBA coach to reach 1,000 wins in the league following Philadelphia's 114-105 triumph in Chicago.

Joel Embiid fuelled the 76ers to their sixth straight win with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the absence of Tobias Harris, Danny Green and Ben Simmons.

It clinched a milestone for former Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers coach Rivers – a Chicago native.

"I had no idea that I was at 999," Rivers – an NBA champion with the Celtics – told reporters. "I don't count. That's not why I do it and this win being shorthanded, being in Chicago means a lot, and it also means I'm very lucky.

"When I go back and look at the coaching staff that I've had and all the players, wins like tonight, obviously, winning the title is great, but wins like tonight is why you coach.

"When you when you just piecemealing it together and the guys are pulling together. We did it in Detroit, we did it in the last Chicago game, we did it again tonight.

"These are these are the games that are when you sit back and think special wins, these are the ones that are really special."

Eastern Conference leaders the 76ers (8-2) have won eight of their opening 10 games for the first time since a 10-0 start in 2000-01.

The 76ers were inspired by another red-hot performance from three-point range as Philadelphia shot 50 per cent – Embiid was four-of-five shooting from three, while Furkan Korkmaz (25 points) matched a career high with seven made threes.

"The chemistry that we have is very different from the previous years," Last season's MVP runner-up Embiid said. "We're complete. We're on the same page.

"Everybody feels like they have something to prove."

Korkmaz added: "I gotta say this is coming from the coaching staff for sure because they trust me more. They give me more confidence. They are running more plays for me and not just for scoring, not just for shooting, I'm trying to make more plays also for my team-mates.

"I've been working on this, but I think this year, I have equal opportunity, especially in the second unit to show this, and definitely, I can say this is coming from the coaching staff."