The New York Knicks opened the Eastern Conference semifinals with a dominant 137-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday at Madison Square Garden, exposing major defensive issues for the visitors.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse pointed directly to execution and timing after the loss, calling it a difficult night on both ends of the floor.
“Obviously, it was a tough defensive night. New York shot a pretty good percentage throughout,” Nurse said.
He highlighted a stretch in the first half where the game slipped away quickly in transition defense and pick-and-roll coverage.
“We thought we got off to a decent start defensively, and then we just had five or six mid pick-and-rolls in a row that they scored on in pretty much every way they could,” Nurse said.
He detailed how the Knicks punished repeated breakdowns in coverage.
“Came off for a three, didn’t get through the screen, hit a lob, hit a couple of floaters down the lane. I think they scored six straight times off that, and that kind of extended it a little bit.”
Nurse said the overall issue was consistency and defensive speed across possessions.
“I just feel like we were a full step slow tonight defensively. We seemed like we were chasing everything, didn’t guard the ball well enough, didn’t contest shooters well enough.”
He added that New York’s ball movement and spacing created constant pressure.
“They were obviously picking us apart, just moving a lot better than we were.”
Offensively, Philadelphia also failed to generate efficient looks, according to Nurse, who linked shot quality to execution rather than outcome.
“We just didn’t shoot it particularly well, but I don’t think we generated nearly as good of shots.”
The coach stressed that the team’s offensive identity from the previous series was not replicated.
“I kept talking about the last series how the shot creation and generation was excellent, and it wasn’t very good tonight. We’re going to have to figure out how to run some more offense to get some of the same looks we got in the last series.”
Physicality also became a central theme, especially after turnovers led to transition points.
“It was super physical. I think they played really physical,” Nurse said. “We had three turnovers and they were just on the ball… I think we coughed two of the three up for pick-sixes down to the other end. You can’t do that in the playoffs.”
Nurse also addressed early defensive assignments on Jalen Brunson, as multiple defenders rotated in the first quarter.
“We’ll make the switches sometimes. Sometimes it just happens. You’re getting back in transition, and whoever’s closest has to pick him up.”
He briefly commented on Joel Embiid’s stomach contact during a screen action, suggesting precaution rather than concern.
“He looked like he got hit in the stomach on a screening roll. I think he’s probably okay.”
Looking ahead, Nurse emphasized adjustment and film work before Game 2, without overreacting to the margin of defeat.
“We’re going to have to watch a bunch of film… It doesn’t really matter if it’s six points or 36 or whatever it was. It’s one, and we got to wash that one away.”
