Ill-timed swoon keeping conference race tight
PHILADELPHIA >> The scramble for the No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference tournament remains tight at the top and is growing tighter in the middle.
That’s what happens when the team in front loses consecutive home games in April.
Not that the Sixers were obsessed with the standings as they faced the Phoenix Suns Wednesday, as they were willing to try it without three starters. But a 116-113 defeat, following Monday’s loss to Golden State, kept them from creating separation.
As the night ended, the 3919 Sixers still had a half-game lead over the 39-20 Brooklyn Nets, who fell Wednesday in Toronto. But since they must play twice in Milwaukee by
Saturday afternoon, the Sixers are in imminent danger of dipping into second place.
“It’s always important to respond to a loss,” Danny Green said after a morning shootaround. “You don’t want to lose two in a row. It’s important to have the No. 1 seed. But it’s important to be healthy, too.”
The Sixers were without Seth Curry (hip flexor), Tobias Harris (knee) and Ben Simmons (illness), yet nearly forced overtime against the Suns when an 80-foot heave from Joel Embiid hit the backboard, began to enter the hoop, then bounced out.
But when the final standings are printed, there will be no concession to highlights shots that just missed.
“We played hard,” Doc Rivers said. “We got crushed in transition again. Overall, I liked how we played. But we still want to win. You want to win that game.”
••• Claiming he is “not in the best physical shape at this point,” Embiid said he wasn’t supposed to play Wednesday.
“We have a lot of guys out, but it is my job to go out and be a leader,” he said after providing 38 points and 17 rebounds. “The No. 1 seed is wanted. And every single night I have to go out and fight.”
••• Rivers was not ready to declare late Wednesday if Simmons, who has missed the last two games, would fly with the Sixers to Milwaukee.
“I think he will, but I don’t know,” Rivers said. “He’s not feeling great. And with fluid and all that, I don’t know if I want him on the plane. Do you want him to sit next to you?”
••• Shake Milton started but shot 2-for-10. In his last three games, he has shot 6-for-24.
“He has to play better,” Rivers said. “It happens. But tonight, he was a minus-17. You have games like that. You have a couple games like that. We still trust him 100 percent. I believe in him. I know he is going to help us out. But it is a long season.”
•••
With Simmons missing, Matisse Thybulle blocked three shots and helped limit Devin Booker to 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
“He was unbelievable,” Rivers said. “I thought he chased him to exhaustion. It’s a hard job. And I don’t know if anyone has done a better job on Devin.”
••• Green, 33, has started all 57 games for which he has been healthy this season and entered the game Wednesday with a three-point shooting percentage of 41.5. Only twice since 2015 has he shot better from the arc.
“We want him to throw it at the basket,” Rivers said.
“We tell him that all the time. And I’ll give him credit. He definitely listens.”
In 68 games for the Lakers last season, Green attempted 327 three-pointers. He has tried 356 in 57 games for the Sixers.
“I don’t want to hear about that or my abilities,” Green said. “I don’t want to jinx the situation.”
Three times an NBA champion, Green has been a valued leader, which was almost as much a reason as his outside shot for the Sixers signing him as a free agent.
“When Doc came here, I think he respected me not necessarily as the best player but as a guy that understood the game and would bring that to the table,” he said. “He came to me early in the season and said, ‘We have a couple of projects for you.’ He said, ‘Work on this guy’s approach, or on this guy’s attitude.’
“Elton (Brand) knew what kind of team he had and after watching me the last couple years, being a little older, there was that role for me.”
• • • Behind head coach Monty Williams, the Suns entered the Wells Fargo Center with the second-best record in the NBA, 42-16. Williams was a former Sixer and later an assistant to Brett Brown.
“Monty is a terrific coach,” Rivers said. “When you talk to other coaches and who you have to prepare for and who runs good stuff, Monty’s name will always come up. And now he has a team with talent.
“There’s coaches in the NBA who have had poor records their entire career, but mainly it was because they never had great talent. And we don’t really get to know them. I’m really happy that we got to know Monty is a terrific coach, because he is.”