A Handful Of Demoralizing Stats Off The 76ers' Second 32-point Loss In 8 Days

A handful of demoralizing stats off the 76ers' second 32-point loss in 8 days originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s bad enough losing one playoff game in a series by 32 or more points. The 76ers on Sunday night lost for the second time in eight days by 32 or more points. 

Until this week, the 76ers had lost only six playoff games in franchise history by 32 points. Now they’ve done it twice in the same series.

Yikes.

Let’s take a look at a handful of utterly demoralizing stats off the 76ers’ 128-96 loss to the Celtics in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First-Round series, which the Celtics now lead three games to one. And thanks to the Stathead database for helping provide some of this insanity. 

ONE OF THEIR WORST PLAYOFF LOSSES EVER: The 32-point loss is the Sixers’ 7th-largest ever in a playoff game, the 2nd-largest ever at home and their most lopsided home loss in 56 years. The only worse home loss in 76ers postseason history was a 156-120 loss to the Bucks in Game 3 of their 1970 Eastern Division Semifinal series at the Spectrum. It’s also their second 32-point loss in the series after losing Game 1 123-91. The 76ers are the seventh team in NBA history to lose two games in the same postseason series by 32 or more points.

TOUGH NIGHTS FOR V.J. AND KELLY: After shooting 0-for-7 from 3 in Game 3, V.J. Edgecombe shot 0-for-4 in Game 4. He’s only the second 76er to take 11 or more 3’s in a two-game span in the postseason and miss them all. In 2001, Allen Iverson shot 0-for-8 vs. the Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series at the First Union Center and four nights later he was 0-for-5 in Game 4. (He didn’t play in Game 3). Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre shot 0-for-6 the 3rd-most misses ever by a Sixer without a basket in a playoff game. Robert Covington had an 0-for-8 against the Celtics in 2018 and Georges Niang was 0-for-7 at Miami in 2022.

OUT OF IT EARLY: After trailing the Celtics by 15 after the first quarter in Game 1, the 76ers trailed by 16 Sunday night after one quarter. Not only is this the first playoff series in 76ers history in which they’ve trailed more than once by 15 or more points after the first quarter it’s the first time it’s happened twice in the same postseason. In fact, before Game 1 the 76ers had only trailed by 15 after the first quarter six times in 488 all-time playoff games. They’ve now done it twice in four games. Similarly, the 76ers trailed by 18 at halftime Sunday night after trailing by 18 in Game 1. Those are tied for the 9th-largest halftime deficits in 76ers postseason history. And this is the first series in franchise history in which they’ve trailed twice by 18 or more points. The 18-point halftime deficit is 3rd-largest at home in the postseason behind a 36-point deficit vs. the Bucks in that Game 3 of their 1970 Eastern Division Semifinal series at the Spectrum and a 20-point deficit in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal vs. the Hawks at Wells Fargo in 2021. 

HOW DO YOU SCORE 38 POINT IN A HALF? The 76ers’ 38 points in the first half were their fewest in a postseason first half in 14 years, since they trailed the Celtics 41-33 at halftime of an 85-75 loss in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden. The last five times they’ve scored fewer than 40 points in a postseason first half have all been vs. the Celtics.

MOST 3’S EVER VS. 76ERS: The Celtics made 24 3-pointers, the most ever against the Sixers in a postseason game. The previous high was 20 three times, including by the Celtics in Game 2. The 76ers have allowed 20 or more 3-pointers three times in a home game, including twice in the last three days. The Hawks had 20 in Philly in 2021. The 24 3’s are tied for 3rd-most in NBA history. The Cavs made 25 vs. the Hawks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series in 2016 and the Bucks made 25 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference First-Round game in 2023. The Celtics shot 45 percent from 3, highest in NBA history by a team attempting at least 50 3’s. The previous high was the Rockets’ 44 percent on 22-for-50 in a win over the Spurs in Game 1 of their 2017 Western Conference Semifinal Round series.

HE DIDN’T EVEN START: Payton Pritchard’s 32 points tied the most ever scored in a playoff game against the 76ers by a player who came off the bench. In 1981, in Game 1 of the Bucks-76ers Eastern Conference Semifinal game, Junior Bridgeman scored 32 off the bench.