History says the Sixers’ 3-0 deficit against the Knicks is insurmountable. So what’s the message?
No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series. The Sixers will first try to avoid the sweep in Sunday's Game 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Nick Nurse stopped Saturday’s film session where the 76ers trailed Friday’s Game 3 against the New York Knicks, 80-76, late in the third quarter. Players and staff then watched their team miss three consecutive wide-open three-pointers, allowing the Knicks to build a nine-point lead heading into the final period of an eventual 108-94 victory.
“We didn’t play well enough,” Nurse said, “and we’re right here.”
The Sixers’ postseason could already be characterized as a form of whiplash. Two weeks ago, they fell behind three games to one in their first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, thanks to a blowout Game 4 loss that spoiled Joel Embiid’s gritty return from an appendectomy. Eight days ago, the Sixers won a euphoric Game 7 in Boston to complete a stunning comeback against a rival that they had not ousted from the postseason in more than 40 years. And in the week since, the Sixers have lost three games in a row in their second-round series against the Knicks, to again put them on the verge of elimination.
The Sixers overcoming that deficit to win this series — which continues with Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena — would be a feat that no NBA team ever accomplished. So rather than focus on the broader goal that history already deems unachievable, the Sixers’ primary messaging is, “[Expletive], win a game. Keep it alive,” veteran forward Paul George said.
» READ MORE: Sixers’ bench production falls way short in Game 3 loss to Knicks, continuing a season-long issue
That starts with avoiding the sweep on Sunday.
“You would have thought it was the complete end of the world last week, when we were down 3-1,” reserve forward Dominick Barlow added after that Saturday film session, “and we were able to come back and win. You can kind of see the same thing kind of happening now.
“We’re just going to go out and play Sunday, try to get a win, and extend this series and let fate decide from there.”
Nurse described his team’s collective mood Saturday as “pretty good.” Standout rookie VJ Edgecombe added that he and teammates are “present in the moment” while acknowledging “our backs are against the wall.” The Sixers have been a resilient bunch throughout the season, both in rallying for that first-round upset and while navigating a multitude of injuries, plus an abrupt 25-game suspension for George for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
“This is where you really dig deep on your principles and kind of figure out what you’re made of,” Barlow added. “This is not a time to point fingers or drift apart. This is where we’ve got to kind of really [bear] down and come together as a group.”
Yet Nurse rattled off a long list of necessary improvements in order for the Sixers to compete Sunday, much like Embiid did after their dreadful Game 4 loss to Boston. Several shortcomings overlap with the Sixers’ past issues, though a couple of “uncharacteristic” flaws have appeared.
Rebounding woes have resurfaced, after the Knicks in Game 4 dominated that category, 49-33, including a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass that yielded 20 second-chance points. The Knicks also continue to “blitz” by sending an extra defender at All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey, prompting Nurse to encourage his team to push more in transition.
» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey has disappeared vs. the Knicks, thanks to Villanova’s Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson
Nurse added that the Sixers must cut down on self-inflicted turnovers — their 48 second-round giveaways are the most by any team entering Saturday — and also finish better at the rim and use kick-out passes to generate more catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities.
Embiid’s health remains a prominent variable, as evidenced by the massive ace bandage he removed from his right hip and midsection following Friday’s return to action in Game 3. He is listed as probable to play in Game 4 on the NBA’s initial official injury report released Saturday evening.
The former NBA Most Valuable Player went 7-for-17 from the floor for 18 points in Game 3, still searching for that super-efficient shooting performance. And the Knicks have been attacking Embiid defensively in the high pick and roll, testing his mobility that was already more limited following multiple knee surgeries and has become more so while dealing with his appendectomy aftermath, hip soreness, and a sprained ankle.
Nurse acknowledged he came out of Friday’s game believing that Embiid was in a “pretty tough situation” defensively. Upon further film examination, however, the coach also chalked up some of those struggles to overall schematic mistakes while accounting for versatile All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns and traditional center Mitchell Robinson. Nurse said there were “several” possessions when Embiid was “making the right play [and] just didn’t quite get there.”
“That probably has a little bit to do with how he’s feeling,” Nurse added. “Hopefully, if we can clean up the schematic stuff a little bit, it will enable him to get there.
Outside concern — and evidence — also is mounting that the Sixers are physically wearing down.
After leading the NBA in minutes per game during the regular season, Maxey entered Saturday ranked first in that category in the playoffs by nearly 30 total minutes. The next two players in line were Edgecombe, who is still in the midst of the most grueling stretch of basketball of his life, and George, a 36-year-old who scored 15 first-quarter points Friday but went 0 of 9 from the floor the rest of the game. As a team, the Sixers have gone cold offensively in their past two fourth quarters, failing to reach 20 points.
“Obviously, fatigue’s a factor,” Edgecombe said. “But that’s with every team. It’s late in the season. If you want to win, that shouldn’t matter. We just were missing wide-open shots.”
» READ MORE: The Sixers go cold, Landry Shamet heats up, and the Knicks win 108-94 to take a 3-0 series lead
When asked to describe the past week — from the Game 7 win in Boston to the rapid descent into this 3-0 deficit — Edgecombe reminded that it also has been less than two weeks since the Sixers were in that 3-1 hole against the Celtics to initially put their season on the brink.
This quest is even more challenging. So challenging that no NBA team has ever accomplished what the Sixers must in order to win the series.
But they cannot close this gap against the Knicks on one Sunday afternoon.
So they will go one game at a time.
“That’s what you’re trying to show them: We’ve just got to play better,” Nurse said. “Can we play better? And we’ve got to do it. If we do it, we’ll be going back to New York [for Game 5].”
