PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in an extremely tough position as they make the trek back to New York City on Tuesday. The Knicks went into the Wells Fargo Center and took Game 4 on Sunday pushing Philadelphia to the brink in the first round.
The Sixers went cold in the fourth and shot just 6-for-24. The Knicks weren’t much better at 6-for-21, but New York won the rebounding battle, 18-8, in the fourth. The Knicks grabbed seven offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second-chance points.
“I thought OG (Anunoby) and Precious (Achiuwa) and those guys were really a factor,” Nurse said after Game 4. “They were both very energetic. Very athletic. Getting their hands on some balls. (Josh) Hart, obviously, got his share, but Precious came in there and got four and probably got his hands on two or three more. Certainly became a big factor in the fourth.”
Through four games of this series, the point differential is plus-4 in favor of New York. It has been tightly contested, which is why coach Nick Nurse is confident the Sixers can still rally.
“We gotta play better, right?” Nurse added. “We just gotta play better. It was a helluva game. Again, it could’ve went either way. We were up 10 twice in both halves, right? Like, we played good. Again, the stretches when we’re not good have gotta be just slightly below average rather than really bad. Those stretches you’re not gonna play great all the time, but those stretches need to be a little bit more around average. Yeah.”
The Sixers have to play like they understand every possession matters. This is a veteran-laden roster that has a wealth of playoff experience. As Philadelphia heads back into Madison Square Garden, it will have to draw on that experience and get this series back to the Wells Fargo Center.
“Just to stay the course of it, but also know that it’s a must-win game, and understand that we have to be the more physical team,” added Tobias Harris. “I think last game that we played (Game 3), we had a conscious effort of that. Of getting to the glass and keeping them off the glass and outside of that, just running. Making their looks a lot harder than they were tonight, but that was the opposite. We know that and we have to stick to that game plan.”
The Sixers will have to fight for their lives in Game 5 on Tuesday evening.
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