Philadelphia ? Randy Ayers was fired by the struggling Philadelphia 76ers during his first season as their coach, and assistant Chris Ford was promoted to replace him Tuesday.

Philadelphia went 21-31 under Ayers. The 76ers trail Boston for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

“Randy is a great friend, but a change was needed,” 76ers general manager Billy King said. “Our goal is to put a team out there that plays hard every night. … A lot of things haven’t gone well for us. It’s not fair to point the finger at one person.”

Ford was given the job on an interim basis. He joined the 76ers’ coaching staff last summer after two seasons as the coach at Brandeis. He led the Boston Celtics to division titles in 1991 and 1992, and he also coached the Bucks and Clippers.

The 76ers’ next game is at home tonight against Washington.

All but one of the 15 Eastern Conference teams (Atlanta, with Terry Stotts) have changed coaches since the end of last season. Now the 76ers have done it twice in that span. Ayers took over after the resignation of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, now with the Detroit Pistons.