Doc Rivers wins in his return — and talks about lost opportunities with the Sixers

Doc Rivers returned Sunday to the Wells Fargo Center, a building he called home for the last three years.

He passed by the same facility employees he chatted with before every home game as the 76ers coach during that time. And he heard some of the same boos from Sixers fans.

But this time definitely had a different feel.

As the Milwaukee Bucks coach, Rivers posted a 119-98 victory over the organization that fired him on May 16. This game also marked Patrick Beverley’s first game against the Sixers (33-24) since they traded him to the Bucks (37-21) on Feb. 8.

» READ MORE: Sixers cannot deal with the Bucks’ firepower in a 119-98 loss

“It was awesome,” Rivers said of his return. “I mean like, really. I had three really good years here. And I’m not talking about basketball. I’m talking about life. I enjoyed my stay here. I have made friends for life here.

“I still come in. I snuck in a couple of times and got golf in at [the Philadelphia Cricket Club]. So it was good. The fans were good. A couple of hilarious comments. I will say that.”

Rivers mentioned that a fan told him that comedian and writer Larry David was looking for him to golf with. But fans heckled Rivers. He was even booed during pregame introductions.

“I didn’t hear it, to be honest,” Rivers said, “and that means I was back at home.”

The coach had a point, even though he was joking about Philly sports being hard on players and coaches.

There was no in-between when it came to how Sixers fans felt about him. They either loved or hated him. Some fans even refused to call him Doc. To them, that nickname is reserved for Sixers great Julius “Dr. J” Erving. So they referred to Rivers by his given name, Glenn.

Rivers was let go two days after the Sixers’ 112-88 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden. It marked the third consecutive season that his Sixers suffered a second-round postseason exit.

They lost in seven games in 2021 to the Atlanta Hawks before losing in six games in 2022 to the Miami Heat.

But it’s hard to win games when your two best players struggle like Joel Embiid and James Harden did in the winner-take-all Game 7 against Boston.

Harden had nine points, seven assists, and six rebounds, and made just 3 of 11 shots, including 1 of 5 three-pointers. Harden had more air balls (three) than made baskets (two) in the first half.

» READ MORE: Sixers grades vs. the Bucks: Another solid Tyrese Maxey outing; Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris struggle

Embiid finished the game with 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting while missing all four of his three-point attempts. He led the Sixers with eight rebounds and two blocks. However, he spent most of the game on the perimeter. Playing with a sprained knee ligament, he looked fatigued.

So does Rivers feel he was unjustly blamed for the Sixers’ failure to advance?

“Listen, that’s up [to] you guys,” he said of his third-seeded team losing to the second-seeded Celtics. “I believe in what I do. I’ll put it that way. Going into the series last year, if I had to ask you guys to have a show of hands, who picked the Sixers?”

Only one reporter in a packed media room raised his hand.

“That’s the point,” Rivers said. “Yet, we had them down 3-2 and had a chance. The game we should’ve won was Game 6. Game 7s are tough everywhere, but we did something to get there, and I just told you how close we were, and I look back on that and think Joel wasn’t 100% last year. Things happen and you just live with them.”

In Game 6, the Sixers appeared to forget that Embiid is the best player in the league. It would be the only logical explanation for why he didn’t touch the ball late in the game.

Embiid finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in the 95-86 loss. He scored six points on 3-for-6 shooting in the fourth quarter. However, Embiid had only two shot attempts — both misses — in the final 5 minutes, 39 seconds. His last one game came with the Sixers down, 84-83, with 3:56 to play. The Sixers were outscored by 11-3 after that.

It also didn’t help matters that Harden failed to score in the fourth quarters of Games 5, 6, and 7 on a combined 0-for-6 shooting in the series loss.

» READ MORE: Sixers show appreciation for Doc Rivers ahead of his return with Milwaukee

Under Rivers, the Sixers compiled an impressive 154-82 regular-season record. They clinched the 2021 Eastern Conference regular-season title. Their 54-28 record last season was their best mark since going 56-26 in 2000-01. Yet, Rivers was hired to advance them beyond the second round.

“I just wish we could have gone further,” Rivers said. “I wish I could have had a chance to have Joel healthy in the playoffs. But when I took this job here, I think they got swept the year before [Rivers was hired] in the first round. That regular season in the next year, we won the East. Lost to Atlanta, which I would love to have that one back as a group, but overall Joel became MVP [last season]. We established this team as a championship contender.

“That wasn’t said the year before and under a lot of stuff. You think about it. We had the James Harden trade. The Ben [Simmons] stuff.”

The Sixers traded Simmons, who refused to play for them, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Harden in a trade on Feb. 10, 2022.

“So [there was] a lot of stuff going on,” Rivers said. “Some of it was out of my control. But overall, for me, if you don’t win a title, you’re never exactly happy. That’s why we all do this. … But I loved it here.”