BOSTON — Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said he was “disappointed” that the NBA’s officiating game report from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals saw Philadelphia have 13 officiating errors disadvantaging the 76ers compared to four for the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“It was disappointing to see, honestly,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said before Sunday afternoon’s Game 7 here at TD Garden. “A 13 to four disparity … in a one-point, two-point game, it’s hard to recover from. It really is.
“I mean, when you saw the report, which we read and then saw the calls that were missed. The trip on James Harden down the stretch when he fell to the floor, the loose ball where they called a timeout, and they didn’t have the ball. Plus, there was a foul on Smart on the play. That would’ve been free throws. That’s hard to recover from. It really is. Having said that, it’s a human game, and you have to just try to play through it. Usually, the disparities are never that great. Most games they’re two and three, and you can live with those, but 13 and four, that’s hard.”
Philadelphia had a two-point lead with just under 6 minutes to go in Game 6 — after winning Games 4 and 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series — before Boston ripped off a 14-3 run to close the game, delivering the Celtics a series-tying victory and forcing this best-of-seven affair back here for a deciding game.
After Game 6, Harden said he was frustrated by a number of missed calls throughout the night.
“Tonight, it was just frustrating because I’m number one as far as fouls that don’t get called,” Harden said after going 4-for-16 from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. “Like, it’s a fact. So, it’s frustrating as a player, when the officials tell you at halftime that, hey, we missed a couple fouls. That right there, there was some missed shots and fouls, which is getting me in rhythm, to transition points [for the Celtics].”
Rivers said heading into Game 7 — one in which Philadelphia is looking to make it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001, and Rivers is hoping to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2012, that “everyone” feels pressure in these situations, but that it’s a “privilege” to be part of them.
“Oh yeah, everyone does,” Rivers said. “I hate to be Billie Jean King, but it is a privilege. It’s an honor to keep getting teams to these places. It really is. I mean, it’s funny, there’s people, your friends who look at you and say, ‘Why do like this?’ And this is what it’s about. You put yourself out there because you want to win, and you know if you do that you have to put yourself in these situations over and over and over again. And it’s worth it. It’s worth it. It’s worth it. And that’s what I tell my guys.”
This story originally appeared on ESPN
