Nick Nurse gets brutally honest about the close win against the Kings
The Philadelphia 76ers may have added another “V” to the win column Thursday night, but the head coach Nick Nurse it is not just planning the parade. Despite escaping with a 113-111 win over the Muck Sacramento Kings team, the nurse was refreshingly and brutally honest about her team’s performance.
“I think we’re pretty lucky, to be honest with you, that we got out of there with V,” the nurse he told reporters after the game. “Not very good on the glass, not very good in transition, not very good on defense … We’re pretty happy to get out of there with a win tonight.”
He is not exaggerating. On paper, this should have been a bust. The Kings entered the Wells Fargo Center on a six-game losing streak and were heavy underdogs by 11.5 points. Instead, Philadelphia found itself in contention, trailing late in the fourth quarter before they the stars finally pulled them away across the finish line.
The The keeper of the game is, unsurprisingly, Tyrese Maxey. The All-Star point guard was surgical, exploding for 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including the game-winning bucket with just 1.3 seconds left. He was not alone in carrying the burden; Joel Embiid had a monster performance own, scoring 37 points and 8 assists.
Together, the duo scored a whopping 77 of the team’s 113 points. However, that superior production has masked some ugly stats for the team. The Sixers were demolished on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 46-24. Sacramento, led by 27 points from Dennis Schroeder and 25 from DeMar DeRozan, repeatedly hurt Philly in transition and second-chance opportunities.
While the Sixers went 25-21 and secured their second straight home win, the lack of support for the “Big Two” and defensive lapses clearly have Nurse on edge. Survival is fine for a Tuesday night in January, but if the Sixers want to be higher but only “lucky” in April, they will have to find help for their superstars.
2026-01-30 03:30:00
