Clippers' second-half schedule features visit from former coach Doc Rivers and 76ers

The Clippers will face Doc Rivers for the first time since the team cut ties with their former coach in September when the Philadelphia 76ers visit Staples Center on March 27, according to the second half of the team’s schedule that the league announced Wednesday.

The 34-game slate begins March 11 at Staples Center against Golden State on TNT, one of 13 nationally televised games involving the Clippers, and includes high-profile matchups against the Lakers on April 4 and May 6. Both are designated as Clippers home games.

The visit from Rivers’ 76ers begins what could be a difficult nine-game homestand that includes matchups against Denver (April 1), the Lakers, Portland (April 6) and Phoenix (April 8).

There are seven pairs of back-to-back games, including four on the road and a fifth that splits between a road game April 30 in Portland and a home game the following night against Memphis.

There are two three-game road trips, one each in March and April, and the schedule closes with a four-game road trip that stops in Tampa, Fla., to face the relocated Raptors, Charlotte, Houston and Oklahoma City in the regular-season finale on May 16.

Clippers' second-half schedule

(National TV listed)

MARCH

11, vs. Golden State (TNT); 14, at New Orleans (ESPN); 15, at Dallas; 17, at Dallas; 20, vs. Charlotte; 22 vs. Atlanta; 24 at San Antonio; 25, at San Antonio; 27 at Philadelphia; 29 vs. Milwaukee; 30 vs. Orlando

APRIL

1, vs. Denver (TNT); 4, vs. Lakers (ABC); 6, vs. Portland; 8, vs. Phoenix (TNT); 9, vs. Houston; 11, vs. Detroit; 13, at Indiana (TNT); 14, at Detroit; 16, at Philadelphia (ESPN); 18, vs. Minnesota; 20, at Portland (TNT); 21, vs. Memphis; 23, at Houston; 26, at New Orleans; 28, at Phoenix (ESPN)

MAY

1, vs. Denver (ESPN); 4, vs. Toronto (TNT); 6, vs. Lakers (TNT); 9, vs. Knicks; 11, at Toronto; 13, at Charlotte; 14, at Houston; 16, at Oklahoma City

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.