Doc Rivers Says Sixers 'Didn't Play Right' vs. Spurs on Sunday Night

Members of the Philadelphia 76ers have admitted before that there is such thing as a bad win and a good loss. When you hear about a dramatic overtime win, it's typically something to celebrate. But if you saw the Sixers' overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night, you know there isn't much to be happy about.

For starters, the Spurs were shorthanded. Without Dejounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan on the floor, a fully healthy Sixers team knew Sunday night's game belonged to them. Philly got off to an early lead and never looked back as they remained in control of the game the entire time.

However, being up 17 at one point and allowing the Spurs to climb back and make it a game late in the second half in the first night of a back-to-back surely wasn't an ideal scenario for Doc Rivers' 76ers.

“I thought there were times when we moved the ball great, and then it felt like every time we got a big lead, the ball starts sticking,” Rivers explained after the game. "The first unit started doing it at the end of their rotation. Then I thought the second unit just basically played ISO ball. That’s not who we are. It’s one of those games, sometimes you think you’re gonna win by a lot, and guys play free ball and what happened was the Spurs didn’t go away.”

San Antonio surely didn't roll over when the Sixers reached a double-digit lead on Sunday night. Sure, Philly might've dominated the Spurs a couple of months ago without looking back, but the Spurs were out for revenge on Sunday, and they almost got what they wanted as the Sixers allowed them to climb back in the game and force overtime before Ben Simmons tipped in the game-winning buzzer-beater basket.

"Today was more of a relief because we knew that we played ourselves in the position that we played ourselves in," Rivers said in regards to winning at the buzzer. "Give San Antonio credit, (Greg Popovich) had those guys playing hard, moving the ball, attacking. But our guys know they didn't play right, and they got away with one. It was more of a relief tonight than a celebration."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.