Inside Game 7′s aftermath: Disappointment, frustration permeate TD Garden after Sixers collapse

BOSTON — The walk from TD Garden’s visitors’ locker room to the area where postgame news conferences are held is abnormally long, and somewhat winding. To reach that destination, a Sixer would turn left out of his temporary domain, then take about 60 steps forward, then turn left, and then right, before entering a room that was once set up for pregame dining.

Throughout this second-round playoff series between the Sixers and Celtics, it’s where reporters sidled up to Doc Rivers for one more question. And where James Harden showed off his fuzzy Game 1 wardrobe, before acknowledging how good it felt to pour in points once again. And where Danuel House Jr. exchanged pleasantries with Marcus Smart, his buddy from their high school basketball days in Texas, after becoming a surprising contributor in the Sixers’ Game 5 victory. And where David Adelman, the Sixers’ minority owner who is spearheading their new arena project, said before Sunday’s Game 7 that he was wearing the same all-black outfit he wore for Tuesday’s victory, hoping it would bring good luck.

» READ MORE: Same old Sixers: Joel Embiid, James Harden sink as Celtics’ Jayson Tatum soars in Game 7

For Rivers and Joel Embiid on Sunday, however, it became a long stroll to explain what went wrong in their disastrous 112-88 season-ending defeat, before metaphorically stepping into an uncertain offseason. The Sixers’ recent Game 7s — Kawhi Leonard’s instant-classic shot, Ben Simmons’ unfathomable passed-up layup — were of the heartbreaking variety. This was a second-half face plant, when the Celtics turned a three-point game into a close-out drubbing.

Here are three scenes that peppered that aftermath, which capture the Sixers’ collective disappointment and frustration following another second-round exit.

A receiving line, of sorts, always awaits Rivers when he returns to Boston, where he coached the Celtics for nine seasons and won the 2008 NBA championship. Arena security guards, former Celtics colleagues and players’ families offer hugs, and handshakes, and memories.

Among those to say hello Sunday: Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ former coach who now runs the organization’s front office.

Speculation about Rivers’ job status is sure to run rampant in the coming days, especially after well-respected coaches Monty Williams, Mike Budenholzer, and Nick Nurse were all let go following seasons that did not live up to internal or external expectations. Rivers said Sunday he plans to be the Sixers’ coach in 2023-24 (he has two years remaining on his contract) but acknowledged “no one’s safe in our business, and I get that.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, James Harden choke in a gutless showing in Boston. ‘The Process’ fails again.

Yet Rivers added that his immediate priority was to turn from coach to father figure. He directed his assistants to do the same.

“After a game like this, my job is to make sure every player is in the right place,” he said. “That’s what I have to do. I told my coaches that this is not the time to worry about you. I told all my assistants that, ‘You make sure you go in that locker room and you go and grab guys that you don’t think are right, and you sit with them and get them right.’

“This is what you do. It’s not the fun part of our jobs, but it is what it is.”

Paul Reed sat alone at a small row of lockers along one wall, already changed into his street clothes and eating a banana.

“You win some, you lose some,” the backup center said, referencing the movie Friday. “But you live.”

Eventually, Reed linked up with Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton. Those two guards have become close pals this season, even while replacing each other as starter and sixth man at various points. Maxey has also remained tight with Reed, his fellow 2020 draftee.

Maxey was excited to learn that Reed planned to spend part of his offseason training in Los Angeles, where he also works out. But even though Maxey’s demeanor had calmed more than following Game 6, when he was openly upset, he still called the Sixers’ series loss “for sure” a missed opportunity.

» READ MORE: Jayson Tatum was the Celtics’ savior ... and the Sixers’ worst nightmare

“Up 3-2 against the defending Eastern Conference champs,” Maxey said. “We knew after we won Game 5 that it wasn’t going to be easy going home, that it was going to everything we had. We let that opportunity slip between our hands. …

“It’s really difficult to close out a series, especially when you’re playing a good team like that. A team that’s battle-tested. A team that’s been through it. A team that’s been there before. We had two opportunities to close them out. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done.”

On the room’s opposite side, a more direct media scrum began with Harden.

He described his emotions as “very disappointed, very frustrated,” and agreed with Rivers’ assessment that the blowout defeat at least partially “diminishes” what the Sixers accomplished during the season to that point. When asked his offseason plans, given that his contract has a player option for next season, he said, “I haven’t even thought about it” and “I just want to have a chance to, obviously, compete.”

And when asked to reflect on the season as a whole, Harden said, “Our season is over. Sums it up right there.”

Embiid trudged down that hallway just after 7 p.m., his game jersey untucked and flip-flops on his feet.

His time inside this arena during this round began with celebration, first while watching the Sixers stun the Celtics without him in Game 1, before learning he had won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award before Game 2 and returning from a sprained knee.

But the most efficient shooting season of Embiid’s career ended with an uncharacteristic dud as he went 5-of-18 from the floor Sunday and finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.

When asked if he re-tweaked that knee, as Rivers speculated, Embiid said he had no excuse. Yet he acknowledged he was “limited” while playing through an injury that typically would keep a player out between four and six weeks. He also maintained that his partnership with Harden has championship potential and endorsed his coach, saying Rivers has “done a fantastic job.”

» READ MORE: Jayson Tatum was the Celtics’ savior ... and the Sixers’ worst nightmare

And before sharing how he plans to process (no pun intended) another Game 7 defeat, Embiid paused to gather his thoughts and said, “Tonight would be the wrong night to just overreact.” He sighed before adding he will take a couple days to breathe. He grinned while referencing Giannis Antetokounmpo’s viral postgame comments that there is no “failure” in sports, but only steps to success.

“It’s tough losing, especially this way,” Embiid said. “… You can be sad about it all you want, but you’ve always got to find ways to be better and keep improving. And that’s what I’m going to do, win or lose.”

This time, there were no Game 7 tears from Embiid. He retraced his steps back toward the Sixers’ locker room, with personal trainer Drew Hanlen trailing and closing the door behind them.

Planning for next season had already begun.