PHILADELPHIA — Doc Rivers wasn't sure what kind of reception he would receive upon his return to Philadelphia, eight months after the 76ers fired him as coach.
“Do they give big receptions to coaches?” Rivers said before his new team, the Milwaukee Bucks, beat Philadelphia 119-98 on Sunday.
When a reporter told Rivers it was different, he acknowledged the validity of the statement, but noted that he hadn't thought much about it yet. However, the crowd in Philadelphia came prepared and let out a loud chorus of boos when Rivers' name was announced before kickoff.
“To be honest, I didn't even hear it,” Rivers said with a smile after the game. “That means he was back home.”
Despite the cold reception, Rivers had nothing but positive takeaways from his tenure with the Sixers, which ended after three seasons. He went 154-82 as Philadelphia's coach, but lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals in all three seasons and was fired in May.
“I'm happy with it overall, I just wish I could have gone further,” Rivers said. “I wish we had had the opportunity to have Joel [Embiid] healthy in the playoffs.
“But overall, Joel became MVP and we established this team as a championship contender. That wasn't said the year before. And underneath a lot of things. If you think about it, we had the James Harden trade, the Ben [Simmons] stuff. Some were under my control, some were out of my control, but overall, for me, if you don't win a title, you're never exactly happy. “That's why we all do this.”
Once the ball tipped, the Bucks overwhelmed the Sixers, who were playing their 11th straight game without Embiid, who underwent a knee procedure earlier this month.
Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined to score or assist on 82 of Milwaukee's 119 points. Brook Lopez added five blocks.
The Bucks scored 69 points in the first half, the most in any half since Rivers took over late last month. They also held the Sixers to 16 points in the fourth quarter. He marked a second straight victory after the All-Star break for Milwaukee, which won at Minnesota on Friday night.
“Holdover… that has to be a key word for us,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. “I feel like we're feeling like ourselves. Playing hard, moving the ball, we're defending better. We're just playing hard.”
Rivers was asked before the game about Philadelphia's Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in last year's conference semifinals, but he said he hadn't spent much time reflecting on it.
“I will put it [this] way: Going into the series last year, who picked the Sixers?” Rivers asked rhetorically. “That's the point. However, we had them down 3-2 and we had a chance. The game we should have won was Game 6. Game 7s are tough everywhere. But we did something to get there.
“It just tells you how close we were. I look back and think Joel wasn't 100% last year. Things happen and you just live with them.”
The Bucks are now 5-7 under Rivers. And unlike Philadelphia fans, Antetokounmpo was willing to express his support for his new coach.
“I love him,” Antetokounmpo said. “It's been amazing playing for him. He just explains to me what he wants from me. You respect him because he's been in the league for 25 years… you have to respect what he's done in the league, he won a championship.” “He's won a lot of games, but when he comes into the locker room, he keeps it simple.”
