76ers fire coach Doc Rivers after 3 second-round exits in playoffs

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Doc Rivers’ penchant for playoff collapses andsecond-round exits cost him his coaching job with the Philadelphia76ers.

The 76ersfired Rivers on Tuesday following a third straight exit in thesecond round of the playoffs, and the second time over that span helost a series lead and a Game 7.

Rivers ledthe 76ers to their second straight 50-win seasonbehindNBAMVP Joel Embiidbut again failed to lead them to theEastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001. The Sixershave not won an NBA championship since 1983.

“We’regrateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him forthe important impact he made on our franchise,” team presidentDaryl Morey said in a statement. “After having the chance toreflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes arenecessary to further our goals of competing for achampionship.”

Morey wasscheduled to address the decision at a news conferenceWednesday.

The 76ersheld a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston beforedroppingGame6 at homeand were crushed inGame7 on the road.

Rivers fellto 6-10 in Game 7s. The 10 defeats are five more than any other NBAcoach.

Rivers andthe 76ers alsolosta decisive Game 7 at home in the second round to Atlanta in2021as a No. 1 seed. Embiid endorsed Rivers’ returnfollowing Sunday’s loss but James Harden was noncommittal aboutwanting their coach back.

Rivers hadtwo years left on his contract and was 154-82 in three years withthe Sixers. He won the 2008 NBA title as coach of the BostonCeltics.

Asked afterthe 112-88 thumping in Boston if he expected to be back next year,Rivers said: “Yeah. I think I got two years left. No one is safe inour business and I get that.”

He’s justthelatestbig name coach fired alreadyduring the postseason and the76ers are sure to have their pick among the best in thegame.NickNurse(Toronto) andMikeBudenholzer(Milwaukee) have been fired after both wonchampionships since 2019 and former Sixers assistantMontyWilliams(who coached Phoenix in the 2021 NBA Finals) alsois available.

Rivers tookover ahead of the 2020-21 season for Brett Brown, who was firedafter the 76ers were swept in the first round of the playoffs.

Rivershimself had just been fired about two weeks after the Los AngelesClippers wasted a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets inthe Western Conference semifinals.

He expectedto coach a team seemingly on the brink of winning a title. Instead,he was on the bench for one of the worst losses in team history, afranchise-shifting loss to Atlanta in Game 7 that came on the heelsofBen Simmons failing to dunk an uncontestedshot, which spiraled into a loss and the end of the All-Starguard’s tenure in Philly. Simmons never played for the 76ers againafter Rivers and Embiid failed to publicly back the star guardfollowing the loss, and the relationship soured from there.

Simmons wastraded a year later for Harden, who was expected to serve as themissing piece that could get Embiid a championship. Or least intothe conference final.

Asked afterthe Game 7 loss in Boston to describe his relationship with Riversand if he’d like his coach to return for a fourth season, Hardensaid “our relationship is OK” and didn’t answer the second part ofthe question.

Now, itdoesn’t matter.

“I thoughtwe had the right group. I really did,” Rivers said.

But oneother intriguing potential candidate to keep an eye on is formerRockets coach Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni coached Harden for fourseasons in Houston and they both thrived there working under Morey.Morey has been a staunch Harden defender and worked hard to bringhim to the 76ers. With Rivers gone, another reunion could be on thehorizon.

Harden, whoplayed the last few months with nagging left Achilles soreness, hasa player option of $35.6 million. He was vague on what he might dothis summer. But perhaps a reunion with D’Antoni — or, at the veryleast a coach who knows how to pair Harden-Embiid to theirstrengths — can entice The Beard to stay. The 76ers are eligible tosign Harden to a $210 million, four-year deal while other teamscan’t offer more than $202 million over the same contractlength.

Rivers alsocoached the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers and is1,097-763 over a career that dates to the 1999-2000 season.