WASHINGTON -- The Sixers responded to Sunday’s 130-116 loss to the Magic by fighting back from 14-point deficit, going on a 26-6 run and holding the lead with less than eight minutes to play on the Wizards’ home court.
Ultimately, John Wall (37 points, seven assists) and Marcin Gortat (18 points, 20 rebounds) combined for 29 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter alone to ice the Wizards' 116-108 win (see Instant Replay).
The Sixers’ bounce-back effort fell short, as they dropped to 8-52 and were officially eliminated from the playoffs. Brett Brown does not plan to open a box of tissues for anyone, but rather keep them pushing for victories in the remainder of the season.
“As far as feeling bad, I don’t,” Brown said. “I just feel responsible to help them figure out how to get through this and find, ultimately, a win.”
With 22 games remaining, Brown isn’t concerned about the mindset of the team as it tackles the next month and a half. He explained, as the coach, he has to find a balance of being truthful while keeping up their confidence. Brown noted their camaraderie through the ups and downs of a season that began 1-30.
“It’s always that balance of hard truths, making sure their confidence isn’t beaten down,” he said. “I want them feeling good about themselves, but we want to keep it real. Last night’s first half was extraordinarily poor effort-wise. We talked about it, we showed them examples of that. I felt like that wasn’t the case to start with. ... We kept playing, so just walking that line of coaching them and helping them get through this.”
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Ish Smith noticed a change in the team during the second half of Sunday’s game in Orlando, including a 36-point third quarter. It reminded him of what he described as a “charisma” he felt the Sixers had going into the All-Star break that they hadn’t shown since.
The Sixers had that certain look on full display again Monday night. Even with Jahlil Okafor sidelined because of a bruised shin (see story), they opened the second half on a 26-6 run to turn a 12-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think we really had our confidence those three or games before last night,” Smith said. “But I’m happy we’re getting it back.”
Nerlens Noel spoke of the pride the players have and how they still want to win for each other and Brown. At the same time, it can be tough to absorb loss after loss as a competitor, especially when the Sixers put themselves in the position to steal a win but didn’t hold on down the stretch.
“It’s naturally frustrating as a human to go out there and play your butt off and just certain mistakes really helped them close out that game,” he said. “We have to really do a better job of doing the full game plan and following through with it.”
Brown pointed out, as he has done throughout this season, a benefit of coaching such a young team is that the players forget about that night’s game quickly and move on to the next one at hand. (In this case, two days later against the Hornets.) He emphasized the learning aspect of the losses, a way for them to gain knowledge so early into their careers. Brown will carry that coaching approach as the team plays out the schedule.
“The spirit of our group is not rocked,” he said. “Think about the landscape we’ve all had to navigate this year. There’s some pain involved. We’re still together. We haven’t broken up.”