Nick Nurse, 76ers Don’t Have Any Excuses for Going Cold in Fourth Quarter vs. Knicks

The Sixers had good shots but couldn’t convert in fourth quarter of Game 2. They’re now down 2-0 as a result.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse had no excuse for his team's inability to hit shots in the fourth quarter of its Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The 76ers shot themselves out of Game 2 Wednesday night, and it may cost them their series against the Knicks.

Philadelphia led 90-89 heading into the fourth quarter of what had been a back-and-forth affair that wound up featuring 25 lead changes. The Sixers were 12 minutes from tying the series at 1-1 and instead walked out of Madison Square Garden down 2-0 after going ice cold late.

Entering the fourth, Philadelphia had shot 30-for-56 (53.6%) from the field, including hitting half of its three-point attempts (12-for-24). With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers had leaned on their shooting ability to edge into the lead over New York. That shooting abandoned them late.

In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia was 4-for-19 (21.1%) from the field and 1-for-10 from three-point range. Tyrese Maxey, who finished with a team-high 26 points, was 2-for-7 in the fourth, while VJ Edgecombe and Paul George were a combined 0-for-9 on field goals and 0-for-5 from deep. The team generated plenty of good looks, but they wouldn't go down.

Everything the 76ers said after going cold in the fourth quarter

After the game, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse lamented his team’s lack of offense late.

“We played good enough defense to win that game, especially in the fourth,” he said. “Holding them to 19 in the fourth, you've got to hope you can score more than 20 in a quarter."

That futility from the field allowed the Knicks to take over the game. A late 9-0 run led by two big buckets from Jalen Brunson all but sealed things as New York outscored Philadelphia 19-12 in the fourth quarter.

Despite getting a number of great looks, the Sixers couldn’t hit.

"I thought we had maybe four wide open shots in a row that didn't go," Nurse said. "We needed to keep the scoreboard moving. We played great offense, we just didn't shot make."

Edgecombe agreed that the opportunities were there for the 76ers, they just couldn’t make them pay off.

"I think we got a lot of great looks. Wide open looks. We were just missing," the rookie guard said. "We were pretty satisfied with the looks we were getting in the end in the fourth quarter."

Brunson praised his team’s defense late in the game, but admitted his opponents missed some open shots.

"I think we made things difficult. I also think they missed some good looks. Got away with a couple," he said. "But we strung some stops together down the stretch when we needed to, and created a five- or six-point cushion, and just kept that."

Maxey said he felt like Philadelphia had good shots and couldn’t get them to fall. When asked what the team can do when that happens, he had a simple message.

“Just keep shooting,” he said. “If you’re open, you’ve got to shoot the ball.”

The Sixers did just that Wednesday night, but couldn’t find a win. Now they’re staring down a difficult road to get back into the series. This team came back from down 3-1 to the Celtics in the first round. It can certainly do that again. But if they’re going to pull off another comeback, good shots have to go in.

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