Nick Nurse did not hide behind results after the Philadelphia 76ers fell 108-94 to the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Friday night.
The defeat put the Sixers in a 3-0 series hole, but the postgame focus centered on execution, defensive breakdowns, and offensive droughts that Nurse detailed in a lengthy breakdown of the second-quarter collapse and late-game struggles.
“We were just a big run of the same thing,” Nurse said. “Us not scoring, them playing in transition, them scoring, us playing against half court defense.”
He pointed to the stretch where New York flipped defensive stops into early offense. “Probably about 10 out of first 14 possessions and they were up the floor in semi-transition and making some good reads and making some shots,” he said. “We just didn’t keep the scoreboard moving enough to get our defense set.”
The Knicks, led by Jalen Brunson’s 33 points, repeatedly punished slow defensive recovery. Nurse emphasized that the inability to sustain offense directly fed New York’s rhythm.
“The bench unit obviously they weren’t able to get going until the fourth quarter,” Nurse said. “We tried to find the right combinations… but we didn’t hold the water very good there at the end of the first and start of the fourth.”
Philadelphia briefly adjusted with a blitz coverage on Brunson, but the Knicks countered immediately. “We decided to blitz him a little bit and they scored I think on three straight blitzes,” Nurse said.
Paul George’s scoring swing became another key talking point. He opened strong with 15 first-quarter points before going scoreless the rest of the way on nine missed attempts.
“I think there’s probably a couple mixed in there that are tough, but he’s also made a lot of those tough ones early,” Nurse said. “We just got to keep getting him the ball in some places where he likes it.”
Tyrese Maxey was limited to three three-point attempts despite heavy defensive pressure. Nurse noted both scheme and decision-making issues.
“They’re putting two on him and chasing him around pretty hard,” he said. “We just need to make a little bit better plays on him, a little bit better shot making out of those double teams.”
He also highlighted late-game execution, where Philadelphia’s offense stalled during key momentum windows. “I think it was five straight empty possessions… and a couple open threes in that stretch too,” Nurse said.
Rebounding also returned as a problem area, despite improvements earlier in the postseason. “We gave up more rebounds to the five tonight than we had in the Boston series,” he said. “They were already in the air and tapping balls around and we were not taking that extra step.”
Joel Embiid, back in the lineup after missing Game 2, finished with 18 points, and Nurse made clear his appreciation for the effort. “I thought he gave us everything he could.”
With no team in NBA history overcoming a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series, Nurse acknowledged the challenge ahead without looking past it.
“All you can do is try to get the next one,” he said. “If you can get one, it turns to 3-1 pretty quick.”
Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday in Philadelphia, where the 76ers will try to extend the series and correct the issues Nurse outlined in detail.
