Doc Rivers addresses officiating before Sixers take on Celtics in Game 7

BOSTON–The Philadelphia 76ers are set to take on the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday afternoon looking to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. The Sixers had their chance at home in Game 6, but their offense stalled and they fell 95-86.

After the game, James Harden addressed not only his own offensive struggles, but he addressed the officiating as well. He was not happy with what he thought were some missed calls in the loss.

Shortly before Game 7, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the officials in Game 6 made 13 officiating errors that went against the Sixers. Meanwhile, there were just four made against the Celtics.

“It was disappointing to see, honestly,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I mean 13-to-4 is very—in a one-point, two-point game, is hard to recover from. It really is and when you saw the report and then saw the calls that were missed, the trip on James Harden down the stretch when he fell to the floor. The loose ball where they called a timeout, they didn’t have the ball plus there was a foul on (Marcus) Smart on the play that would’ve been free throws. That’s hard to recover from.”

While the officiating is what it is, that is not the reason why Philadelphia dropped Game 6. They lost the game because they simply could not make open shots. They shot just 6-for-25 on wide-open looks and one has to figure that if the Sixers get those same looks in Game 7, they will knock them down.

The officiating is not going to be why the Sixers win or lose this series. It will depend on their play and they will have to play better than they did in Game 6.

“Having said that, it’s a human game and you have to just try and play through it,” Rivers added. “Usually, the disparity is never that great. Most games, there’s two or three and you can live with those, but 13-to-4, that’s hard.”

Game 7 tips off at 3:30 p.m. EDT from the TD Garden in Boston.

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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire