Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey Explain Flipping the Switch After Ugly Loss

For the second week in a row, the Philadelphia 76ers participated in a back-to-back set of games by closing out one week with a matchup and opening another the

For the second week in a row, the Philadelphia 76ers participated in a back-to-back set of games by closing out one week with a matchup and opening another the next night. Last week, the Sixers scooped up a win on the first night against the Orlando Magic but took on a loss the following evening against the Denver Nuggets.

This week, the tables turned. When the Sixers hosted the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, they were fully healthy and facing a shorthanded Raptors team that missed several key players including the All-Star guard, Fred VanVleet.

Despite getting off to a hot start and facing a depleted team, the Sixers shot themselves in the foot with poor execution -- especially down the stretch.

"We didn't execute down the stretch," said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey following Sunday's game. "It's like that sometimes. It's not intentional. We tried to, but it's kind of how the game goes sometimes, I guess."

Philadelphia's fourth-quarter woes on Sunday resulted in an ugly 93-88 loss. Unfortunately for them, the road ahead wasn't getting any easier.

Less than 24 hours after concluding Sunday's matchup, the Sixers were set to host the Miami Heat. Coming into the game, the Heat nearly had a full staff as all of the stars were on board, including Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry.

However, the Sixers had two key absences. Joel Embiid, who's been dealing with back soreness was downgraded from questionable to out. Meanwhile, James Harden got a rest night for the second time since joining the 76ers.

More often than not, the Sixers struggle to overcome their opponents when their MVP-caliber center isn't on the floor. But Monday night's game was different.

Flipping the Switch

Following Sunday's game against Toronto, Doc Rivers ripped his Sixers team for their poor execution. Describing the team as "stagnant" with no ball movement or anything, Rivers was visibly disappointed in his team's approach.

Before Monday's game, Rivers used his disappointment in Sunday's loss as fuel to motivate his Joel Embiid and James Harden-less lineups to bounce back and play better against an Eastern Conference contender.

"We came in tonight, and Coach Doc had his pregame speech as usual," said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey after the game. "The first thing he said was, 'I'm still salty about last night.' About the loss, we had last night. He said, 'but tonight we're gonna go out there and defeat the Heat.' And he meant that. He said he didn't care who was playing. It didn't matter. He said as long as we came together as one unit, then we were gonna be okay. And he was right."

The Sixers went from stagnant to having excellent ball movement on Monday night. As they didn't worry about force-feeding the stars, the Sixers shared the wealth and had five players scoring in double-digits as they outdueled the Heat.

Many might've expected the Sixers to just lay low and take a beatdown loss to the top-seeded Miami Heat on Monday as they lacked the star power of Embiid and Harden, but Sixers veteran Tobias Harris credits Philly's short-term memory as a key factor in Monday's win.

"Just kind of had a short-term memory," he said. "Obviously, we watched a little film before the game, but it's a new team we're playing against. We know how good of a team they are as well, but early on, we just kept bringing the fight. We stuck together, the whole group. Defensively, I thought we were really tight, and the whole night different guys matching up with different guys on their team. And just fighting. That was huge for us to kind of come out and get this victory."

The Sixers collected their 44th win of the year on Monday. With that victory, they slid into the second seed once again, tying with the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the same record. While the Eastern Conference race remains tight, a Monday night win over Miami once again proves the Sixers are in the contender conversation.

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