Watch: Doc Rivers gets booed in his return to Philadelphia

After his Bucks came away with the 119-98 victory, Rivers brushed off the negative reaction as a sign of him being "back at home," per ESPN's Jamal Collier.

"It was awesome," Rivers said of his experience returning to Philadelphia. "Listen, I had three good years here. I'm not talking about basketball, but life. I enjoyed my stay here. I have made friends for life from here. This was good. Fans were good."

Rivers coached the Sixers between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons. During his tenure, the Sixers failed to advance past the second round in all three years. Last year, Rivers' Sixers seemed poised to end the franchise's 20-plus-year absence from the Eastern Conference Finals when they secured a 3-2 lead over the Celtics heading into a crucial Game 6 in their backyard. However, they would be outscored 23-14 in the fourth quarter to surrender control back to Boston, who put them away in Game 7.

Since taking over as the coach of the Bucks, Rivers has come under immense security not just from fans, but even his former players. Last week, JJ Redick — who played under Rivers for the Los Angeles Clippers — called out Rivers for making excuses rather than taking accountability of his team's woes.

Rivers' teams have infamously blown three consecutive 3-1 leads, four other 3-2 leads, one 2-0 lead, and have lost Game 7 at home five consecutive times.