The Philadelphia 76ers entered the FedEx Forum feeling good about themselves. They had won two in a row and they had some players return from the league’s health and safety protocols.
That all disappeared rather quickly on Saturday as they committed 22 turnovers and they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 106-104 on the road despite 28 points from Shake Milton and 21 from Tobias Harris.
“We were just very undisciplined, sloppy, with the basketball,” said an upset coach Doc Rivers. “We turned the ball over down the stretch the last two times down the floor, 22 turnovers, and still had a final shot to win the game. Disappointing loss, because a very winnable game tonight and we just didn’t get it done.”
There was one turnover late by Harris with Philadelphia having a chance to take the lead late that ultimately cost them the game. However, if they don’t commit an abundance of turnovers leading up to that moment, they probably are not in that position, to begin with.
“I saw the replay,” said a dejected Harris. “It was real close, my foot was on the line or whatever. I should have went to a counter and get a shot off. At the end of the day, you got to grow from it, gotta progress, and be ready for tomorrow. On top of that, too many turnovers throughout the game, on my part or our team that led to too many easy baskets for them. That was really where they got their momentum.”
12 of those turnovers came from the team’s primary ball-handlers in Ben Simmons and Shake Milton. Simmons committed seven of them and he had a hand in the reason why Philadelphia took this loss.
“If we don’t have those turnovers, it’s a win for us,” said Simmons. “We gotta come prepared no matter who we face and ourselves accountable early on in the game.”
The Sixers will now have to turn it around quickly as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
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