Doc Rivers doesn’t care about his opponent’s record. He is happy with any victory on the road, even if there are no fans in the stands.
The Philadelphia 76ers coach was thrilled to see his team claim a 114-110 victory in Detroit on Saturday. The Pistons have the worst record in the NBA at 3-13, but Rivers wasn’t scared off by the tight call. He would love to witness a repeat when the teams meet in Detroit on Monday.
“Just because a team’s record is bad doesn’t mean you’re going to win by 30,” he said. “You win by one, you win the victory. Look at some of the Pistons’ losses, a lot of them are close games. This is why it is dangerous to look at records. But we need to play better on the road. This is one of our goals and we have to start doing it. ”
The Sixers, who are 3-4 away from home, take a three-game winning streak in the rematch. Joel Embiid had another great game, scoring 33 points and hitting two free throws with his team leading by two with 7.2 seconds left. Embiid has scored a total of 80 points in two wins over Boston in his team’s previous two games.
Ben Simmons scored 20 points, a season-high, building on his 11-point fourth quarter in Game 2 against the Celtics.
“His ground game has been so good and that’s what we need him to do,” Rivers said. “When he’s playing the ground game (finally) all other things are going to happen. “
Simmons’ backcourt partner Seth Curry scored 14 points despite missing all three attempts by 3 points. Curry was playing his second game since being out for two weeks due to league health and safety protocols.
“Seth is more than a 3-point shooter,” said Rivers. “He’s really great at pick-and-roll, pulling out picks and playing. “
The Pistons are coming out of a frustrating week in which they went 0-4 when they could easily have gone 4-0. They squandered a 19-point lead in Miami, then lost a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter in Atlanta.
The silver lining for Detroit on Saturday was played by young reservists Svi Mykhailiuk and Sekou Doumbouya. They combined for 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Our record stinks at 3 and 13 and I’m not here to lose,” said coach Dwane Casey. “But there is a lot of growth, a lot of positive things with Sekou and Svi. I love the way these two arrived. “
Casey has been criticized for not playing at Doumbouya, a first-round pick in 2019 more often. Doumbouya was lucky enough to play with Blake Griffin on Saturday due to injury handling.
“I’m happy and proud of him, the way he came in and played, defended, rebounded, was there to speak, lead in a positive way,” Casey said. “The future will be very bright for Sekou in this league. “
Griffin and sixth man Derrick Rose, also out with knee pain, are scheduled to play on Monday.
Detroit could also use a rebound play from Jerami Grant. After scoring 20 or more points for 14 straight games, he was held to 11 points on a 3 for 19 shot.
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