Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse addressed the team’s defensive and offensive issues following a 112-109 loss to the New York Knicks Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The nurse pointed to rebounding and offensive execution as key areas that hindered the Sixers.
“And a lot of that was the offensive mistake and the defensive recovery. We just have to continue to work on a variety of things…probably a little too much of the same tonight,” Nurse said.
The coach explained his late-game strategy, including planned substitutions. “We were going to … put Robinson on the line. I just felt more like having one or two rests, maybe see if he would miss it too. We climbed back into the game a little bit,” he said.
Nurse noted the challenge of countering New York’s small lineup. “They went small. I thought we did quite well against their small lineup, especially offensively. We scored just about every time,” he added.
He also talked about his defensive approach to limiting Jalen Brunson’s impact. “We tried to blitz Brunson and not let him be the one to beat us. We had a few turnovers, a few missed shots, about four or five in a row,” Nurse said.
The Sixers coach reflected on OG Anunoby’s timely shooting for New York. “We even got to OG and had him reload the one in the corner and he hit him. Then Shamet hit the next one,” he said, describing the sequence that changed the momentum.
Regarding Tyrese Maxey’s final attempts, Nurse explained, “I imagine he knew he was being fouled and they were trying to foul him, and he was trying to get the call in a shooting motion.”
Nurse also emphasized the importance of preparedness for bench players during sudden substitutions. “Those guys always have to be ready to come in and do whatever,” he said, referring to players like Justin Edwards and Adem Bona.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid scored 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but New York’s third-quarter explosion proved decisive. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points, while OG Anunoby added 23. Consecutive threes from Anunoby and Landry Shamet helped the visitors maintain a slim lead late.
The Sixers fall to 24-20, while the Knicks improve to 27-18 with their second straight win. Philadelphia visits Charlotte on Monday and New York returns home to face the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
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