Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse delivered a blunt assessment after his team’s 128–96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
“Obviously rebounding was a big big thing tonight,” Nurse said, pointing to the Celtics’ control of the glass and pace of play.
Boston finished with a 51–30 rebounding edge, including decisive second-chance production that helped build separation early. Nurse focused on effort and positioning as the turning point.
“They were more aggressive, quicker, wanted to chase them down more than we did,” he said. “We just didn’t seem like we could get bodies on them. Couldn’t run down any long ones. It was a huge problem.”
The Celtics’ physical advantage translated into control of possessions, limiting Philadelphia’s ability to settle into defensive coverage. Nurse described the overall energy gap as the core issue.
“We just were a half step behind on everything,” he said. “We just seemed a half step behind energy-wise. Whatever it was, it just was we were a half step behind.”
Joel Embiid returned after his appendectomy and played 34 minutes, scoring 26 points. Nurse acknowledged the impact offensively while noting the defensive struggles.
“I thought he certainly played a lot better offensively in the second half,” Nurse said. “But the other end wasn’t very good tonight, which is really disappointing. Not just him. I’m just talking about everybody.”
Tyrese Maxey attempted only three shots in the first half, something Nurse directly addressed as a structural issue in the offense.
“No, I know. I’m never okay with that,” he said. “He’s got to certainly be a bigger focal point and get some more shots off for sure.”
Nurse also pointed to shot selection and rhythm disruption as the Celtics’ defense tightened.
“We started the game with about 12 great looks and we didn’t,” he said. “We had eight points on the board. We can’t live in that when we’re generating good shots.”
On defensive execution, Nurse emphasized breakdowns across multiple coverages rather than one matchup.
“I’m not so sure why we couldn’t guard anybody one-on-one tonight,” he said. “We just didn’t guard them one-on-one at all.”
Boston’s bench production, particularly from Payton Pritchard, also drew attention after another high-impact scoring night.
“We just didn’t do a good enough job matchup-wise,” Nurse said. “We weren’t moving great or making great decisions on defense.”
With Philadelphia now trailing 3–1 in the series, Nurse framed Game 5 as a response test built on effort, not complexity.
“The tactical stuff isn’t going to mean anything if we’re not going to play with better energy, toughness, guarding, rebounding,” he said. “That has to take up a good portion of what we’re doing.”
Game 5 shifts to Boston on Tuesday, where the Celtics will look to close out the series after another dominant performance.
