Getty Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks
The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, losing by 13 points, but going down by as many as 22 points. After the game, Sixers starter Tobias Harris challenged the Sixers to figure themselves out with the few regular season games left.
“Shoot, figure it out,” Harris told reporters, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “We got to figure it out. Four games left. I think the biggest thing is that in midst of all that stuff, we still got to be mentally strong to win a game or at least to just present ourselves that we feel like we win a game.”
Harris added that the Sixers did not have the best body language while playing the Bucks, which toh im is not a good sign with how late it is in the season.
“If you just looked at us out there, I’m not watching the game on TV, but I can guarantee you, you saw a team that looked a little defeated out there from time to time in the game,” Harris said. “That can’t be us as the playoffs get ready to start.”
The Sixers will have a chance to respond to Harris’ challenge when they face the Boston Celtics on April 4.
Doc Rivers Explains Tobias Harris’ Benching
Harris did not play throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter against the Bucks. At the start of the quarter, the Bucks were down 14, but never cut it down to any less than 13.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers explained why he decided not to play Harris in the game’s final quarter.
“I just thought the lead was away. He had just come back from injury. There was no reason to put him back in,” Rivers told reporters during his postgame press conference.
Harris was coming back from a non-COVID illness that forced him to miss the Sixers game against the Toronto Raptors on March 31. Harris played in 28 minutes in his return to action against the Bucks. There have been no further reports of him still being hampered by his non-COVID illness.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Singles Out James Harden
After the Bucks beat the Sixers, Giannis Antetokounmpo singled out James Harden after the game for how good he is as a playmaker.
“He’s a great player. He can read the pick-and-roll really well,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Going to his left, he usually tries to throw the pocket pass to Joel, or throw it back, or throw it to the corner. And we just tried to make it as difficult as you can for him to make that pass.”
Antetokounmpo explained how the Sixers’ defended Harden knowing his skills as a distributor.
“There were times that he made that pass. There were times that we were able to get deflections. There were times that Jrue (Holiday) stole the ball. Sometimes I kicked the ball. I think it just gets them out of rhythm. We knew that coming in, and we were just trying to get them out of rhythm, trying to make him go all the way to Brook (Lopez) or Bobby (Portis) or me. Eliminate the pocket pass to Joel as much as we can,” Antetokoumpo said.
Despite the loss, the Sixers have won their season series against the Bucks, 2-1.