Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse pointed to shooting as the biggest factor in Monday’s 125-124 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets. “That was a pure percentage game…53%-48% from three,” Nurse said.
Despite outshooting Denver in some areas, Nurse said defensive mistakes allowed the Nuggets to thrive. “We just didn’t guard them and didn’t keep the ball in front of us well enough all night,” he explained.
The nurse addressed Tyrese Maxey’s final efforts, calling the overtime shot “okay” but noting it was off balance. “He probably didn’t look as neat as he wanted,” he said. He added that spacing and separation issues limited the effectiveness of Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
The coach discussed the minutes for Paul George and Adem Bona in the fourth quarter, explaining that the move was for rim protection and offensive rebounding. “We were just trying to get some rim protection because the ball was coming so deep into the paint,” the nurse said.
The nurse acknowledged missed opportunities to attack the paint. “We didn’t get it in the paint early enough…I would have liked to see a little more of that,” he said, citing a lack of drives and kickouts to create higher percentage shots.
He also discussed Jared McCain’s struggles from three-point range, attributing them to limited playing time after returning from more than 11 months off. “He just needs to play more,” Nurse said.
Despite Joel Embiid scoring 32 points and adding 10 rebounds, the 76ers fell short in crunch time. Nurse emphasized the challenge of Denver’s defensive pressure, noting that Philadelphia’s top players couldn’t get enough distance for clean looks.
On the team’s overall performance, Nurse noted minor mistakes late in the game. “We tried to make the right play, but we just mishandled them,” he said, adding that the execution down the stretch was a deciding factor in the loss.
Philadelphia returns home to take on Washington, while Denver heads to Boston.
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