An experienced Sixers squad has struggled in clutch situations lately. What gives?

Doc Rivers found a positive note, saying it’s rare for a team to gather itself and then pull out a victory after a near disastrous collapse like the 76ers did Friday night.

“So I told our guys I was very proud of that,” Rivers said following the eventual 133-122 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Wells Fargo Center.

But Rivers also has to know it’s rare for a veteran NBA team led by perennial All-NBA players to play so poorly in clutch situations in consecutive games.

On Friday, the Sixers (13-12) were fortunate that Anthony Davis missed what would have been the go-ahead foul shot with 3.7 seconds remaining. They also were fortunate the Lakers were exhausted in overtime and missed their first nine shots — layups and wide-open three-pointers — en route shooting 1-for-10, with their only bucket being a wide-open layup by Patrick Beverley with 35 seconds left and the Sixers up 12.

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“Just the mistakes we made down the stretch [were] very similar to the Houston game in some ways,” Rivers said. “We have to fix that.”

The Sixers definitely have a lot to improve on when hosting the Charlotte Hornets at 6 p.m. Sunday.

On Friday, they blew their 16-point lead with 4 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in regulation while committing seven turnovers down the stretch (10 of their 21 turnovers came in the fourth quarter). Three of them came in the final 27.1 seconds against the Lakers’ press.

Four days earlier, the Sixers had as many turnovers (five) as made baskets (five) in the two extra overtime sessions in the loss to the lowly Rockets.

The Rockets’ loss was also marred by poor decision-making and shot selection in the fourth quarter and overtimes.

Consecutive games with issues in clutch situations is inexcusable for such a veteran team.

With an average age of 26.54 at the start of the season, the Sixers were the 13th-oldest team in the NBA. They also had the 12th-highest number of seasons (5.06) of NBA experience. Even those numbers undersell the Sixers’ experience, considering three starters — P.J. Tucker, James Harden, and Tobias Harris are at least 30. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid is 28.

Regarding NBA seasons, Harden (14th), Harris (12th), Tucker (12th), and Embiid (seventh) all have invaluable experience.

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Not only that, Tucker played a key role on the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship team. Harden and Embiid are perennial All-NBA selections, while Harris is a close-to-being an All-Star.

So it’s kind of surprising that the Sixers are having such clutch issues.

“We haven’t had clutch issues, but the last two we had,” Rivers said. “Taking care of the ball. Getting the ball to the right guy, at the right spot, at the right time, we have not done.”

The Sixers averaged 21½ turnovers in the two games. But a chunk of them were committed late.

Against the Rockets, 14 of their 20 turnovers came in the fourth quarter and overtime sessions. On Friday, the Sixers compiled 13 of their 23 overall turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime, with seven coming in the final 2:04 of regulation.

“Sloppy, but good win for us,” Harris said. “So we’ll take it. Obviously, we didn’t want it to happen that way, but we gotta learn from it and figure it out in those moments. especially when teams are presenting that type of pressure. Just gotta take care of the basketball, make the right play.”

The Sixers were really doomed by poor execution, a questionable timeout, and the Lakers’ pressure defense in the final 30 seconds.

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Instead of taking time off the clock and forcing Los Angeles to foul, Rivers called a timeout with 28.8 seconds left after the Lakers pulled within seven points on Beverley’s driving finger roll.

The Sixers inbounded the ball in the front court following the timeout. They turned the ball over trying to lob the ball to Embiid, who drew a crowd, with 27.1 seconds left. Instead of calling time, they would have been better off inbounding the ball in the backcourt, taking time off the clock, and forcing Los Angeles to foul.

The Lakers benefited from two more turnovers in the final 17.9 seconds. Poor situational decisions and horrid execution nearly led to the Sixers posting their most disastrous loss of the season. The Lakers scored 15 points in the last 93 seconds.

Austin Reaves’ inability to hit all three foul shots with 9.2 seconds left and Davis’ splitting his pair with 3.7 left in regulation are the only reasons the Sixers aren’t being shamed this weekend.

“I was just trying to figure out what the hell was going on,honestly,” Embiid said of the final 30 seconds of regulation. “I think we had a bunch of turnovers. We should have never been in that position.

“But I’m glad we got another opportunity at it, and we went to overtime and we closed it out.”