Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse pointed to shooting struggles as the key factor in Monday’s 125-124 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets. “That was a strictly shooting percentage game… 53%-48% from three,” Nurse said.
Despite outshooting and outrebounding Denver in some areas, Nurse said defensive lapses allowed the Nuggets to thrive. “We just didn’t guard them and keep the ball in front of us well enough all night,” he explained.
Nurse addressed Tyrese Maxey’s final attempts, calling the shot in overtime “okay” but noting it came off balance. “Probably wasn’t as clean a look as he wanted to get,” he said. He added that spacing and separation issues limited the effectiveness of Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
The coach discussed minutes for Paul George and Adem Bona in the fourth quarter, explaining the move was designed for rim protection and offensive rebounding. “We were just trying to get some rim protection out there cuz the ball was getting down the paint so much,” Nurse said.
Nurse acknowledged missed opportunities to attack the paint. “We didn’t get it into the paint nearly enough early… I would have liked to see a little more of that,” he said, citing a lack of drives and kick-outs to create higher-percentage shots.
He also addressed Jared McCain’s struggles from three-point range, attributing them to limited playing time after returning from 11-plus 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 highlighted the challenge of Denver’s defensive pressure, noting that Philadelphia’s top players could not gain enough separation for clean looks.
On the team’s overall effort, Nurse noted minor miscues late in the game. “We were trying to make the right play and we just kind of mishandled them,” he said, adding that execution down the stretch was a decisive factor in the loss.
Philadelphia will return home to face Washington, while Denver heads to Boston.
