The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100 on Friday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
After the game, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse pointed to a handful of decisive possessions that swung the result in Boston’s favor.
“That was a real big one there, right? With a one-point game at the time. That was a really big one,” Nurse said, referring to a key stretch late in the fourth quarter.
Rebounding became a defining factor in the matchup, with Boston producing 15 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points compared to Philadelphia’s 17.
“It was a pretty tough rebounding game both ways. They just happened to capitalize a little more. They had 22 points off second chance. We had 17, probably enough for the difference,” Nurse said.
He also highlighted Boston’s ability to turn extra possessions into perimeter production in critical moments.
“I think they hit four or five threes off offensive rebounds. So that’s kind of doubly bad,” Nurse said. “It’s a battle out there. We knew that was a big key coming into the series and we probably didn’t do enough.”
Despite the result, Nurse emphasized effort and execution on the glass from his team.
“I thought we had some really good stretches of it, but they got a couple key ones there and obviously hit some tough shots off the kickouts as well,” he said. “But our guys played their butts off.”
Boston’s three-point shooting also played a major role, with 20 makes on 47 attempts.
“We know they’re going up. That’s their number that they shoot. We got to make sure each and every one of them is contested,” Nurse said. “They did make some pretty heavily contested ones, especially late in the game.”
He added that Boston’s shot-making made the margin difficult to overcome.
“Tatum hit some really tough ones, big time plays. Pritchard obviously hit that step back off the dribble going left. That’s another big time one,” Nurse said. “They were great tonight. They were great.”
Nurse also addressed rookie VJ Edgecombe’s offensive rhythm, noting both opportunity and inconsistency.
“I think he was 0 for six going into the fourth maybe and I was thinking, you know what, it wouldn’t surprise me if this kid banged about three here in the fourth,” Nurse said.
Philadelphia’s ability to contain Boston’s driving actions also came under review, particularly Tyrese Maxey’s contested paint touches.
“I thought they caught him from behind a lot. I got to look at it as well,” Nurse said. “Those got to turn into… probably just go into a little bit more of his float game instead of his drive game.”
Late-game defensive sequences and foul timing also drew attention from the head coach.
“I thought the Bona fifth foul was really probably could have been let go. Tatum traveled before it anyway,” Nurse said. “We were really causing them a lot of problems for the last about 5 minutes on defense and that one kind of hurt.”
The series now shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 4, where adjustments on rebounding and perimeter defense will again be central themes.
