Doc Rivers Discusses Sixers' Failed Final Play vs. Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers had a rough night on Wednesday. As they faced the Boston Celtics on the road for the first time this year, the Sixers seemed to lack juice on offense as they didn't move the ball around well. On top of that, shots weren't falling for guys who typically lead the charge in scoring.

In total, the Sixers shot a lousy 37-percent from the field on Wednesday night. From beyond the arc, they drained just 26-percent of their shots. Despite the struggles from the field, the Sixers still had a chance to win Wednesday's game in Boston.

As they trailed four points with a little over 30 seconds left to go, Sixers veteran Danny Green nailed one of his two three-point shots to make it a one-point game. As the Celtics burned a majority of the clock on their final possession, they failed to capitalize on their lead as Dennis Schroder missed a layup for two points.

Sixers big man Joel Embiid was the first to come down with the rebound off the miss, leading to a Philadelphia timeout. At that point, there were six seconds left to go in the game, which was enough time for 76ers head coach Doc Rivers to draw up a play that gives the Sixers a chance to get out in front and steal a win on the road.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned for the Sixers during their final play. With a lineup of Seth Curry, Georges Niang, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Joel Embiid, the Sixers intended to get the ball to Embiid, who had a mismatch in front of him. However, 76ers forward Tobias Harris didn't get a clean look at the big man and failed to execute the play as planned.

Although the ball got to Niang in time for him to get a shot up, his 23-footer wasn't successful, which led to another Philadelphia road loss.

"I thought what we were looking for was there, honestly," said Doc Rivers after the game. "We didn't get it there, and then the execution after that wasn't great. It's six seconds. It's hard to score in six seconds, so we didn't score is what went wrong with us would be my answer."

The Sixers' strategy for the final play was met with a lot of criticism following the 88-87 loss. But the actual play and execution wasn't the only thing that had Doc Rivers under fire on Wednesday. His decision to not utilize another guard such as Tyrese Maxey or Shake Milton in that situation was a cause for concern.

Although Maxey's shooting struggles throughout the night likely led Rivers to keep him off the floor in that situation, Milton wasn't in the same boat. During the 22 minutes he was on the floor, the veteran guard knocked down six of his 11 shots from the field. But in Rivers' eyes, it seems he wasn't the shooter they were looking for.

"I just wanted shooting on the floor," the head coach said. While not having Milton in the game at that point was a questionable decision for Rivers, it probably wouldn't have changed much about the outcome, considering the play was ultimately drawn up for Embiid to get the final shot.

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