April 29, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Nick Nurse's Sixers are one loss away from elimination, thanks in large part to the defensive efforts of two players he used to coach: OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa.
Tyrese Maxey finished his postgame work after the Sixers' Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks in their first-round series, put his head down and walked from the locker room to the podium to conduct a press conference. He likely knew exactly what question would arise once he sat down.
Maxey took a seat and was immediately asked about what the Knicks were able to do in the fourth quarter to stymie the Sixers' offense — which could only post 16 points in the game's final dozen minutes of play.
Predictably, the All-Star guard — whose leadership skills are beyond his years — quickly took responsibility.
"We couldn't get in a rhythm offensively, as far as what we wanted to run," Maxey said. "That's on me and [Kyle Lowry] to get us organized and get us a good shot."
The Sixers' offense was disorganized down the stretch (among many other unfavorable descriptors) and to some extent, Maxey is culpable in this loss. He failed to settle things down, though many would argue that should not be the responsibility of a fourth-year, 23 year-old player. But Maxey also shot just 8-for-21 from the field — not terrible, but below the lofty standards the NBA's 2023-24 Most Improved Player has set for himself — and went 3-for-9 from beyond the arc.
While Maxey assigning himself blame is admirable, the reality is that every Sixer who was on the floor needs to own a piece of this. Maxey, Lowry and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse all struggled to keep the offense free-flowing and organized. Nic Batum scored one point across 21 minutes. Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. each missed crucial threes in the final few minutes of the game.
And then, of course, there is Joel Embiid. The box score paints a different picture of Embiid than what many will remember. He finished the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks, but what will stand out about the performance is that almost none of his production came in the fourth quarter. The reigning NBA MVP, who had never played an entire half of an NBA game before Sunday afternoon, did exactly that — bypassing his customary rest to open the fourth quarter because the Sixers were suddenly trailing New York after a barrage of scoring in the third quarter by Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson.
Embiid has never played an entire half https://t.co/1DzeTyE4VM https://t.co/VLwJoG8F1P pic.twitter.com/hbeABSl0cY
— Mike Lynch (@SportInfo247) April 28, 2024
Embiid only scored one point in what was a disastrous fourth quarter for both himself and his team. He missed all five of his field goal attempts in the period and made one of his two free throw attempts. His struggles coincided with a unique shift in the Knicks' defensive strategy.
With a handful of minutes remaining in the third quarter, Embiid drew the fifth personal foul of Knicks starting center Isaiah Hartenstein. With New York's typical backup center, Mitchell Robinson, unavailable due to an ankle injury, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reluctantly called upon the services of fourth-year center Precious Achiuwa to man the middle. But in an unconventional move, Thibodeau did not have Achiuwa defend Embiid — instead, he used the athletic and bouncy big as a roamer, with OG Anunoby — who spent the first three and a half games defending Maxey — wrestling with Embiid down low.
In the moment, Embiid forcing Hartenstein to the bench appeared to be a massive victory for the Sixers, who had discarded the only Knicks player with a chance of handling Embiid — or so they thought.
Achiuwa checked in and Anunoby took on the Embiid assignment with 1:25 left in the third quarter and the Knicks trailing by two. Thibodeau ended up riding with that alignment for the remainder of the game, which ended with the Knicks victors by a four-point margin.
With Mitchell Robinson now out for Game 4 vs. the Sixers, the Knicks will likely use Precious Achiuwa at backup center.
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) April 28, 2024
I asked Sixers head coach Nick Nurse + Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau pregame about Achiuwa's Game 3 minutes and what they expect from Achiuwa moving forward: pic.twitter.com/mohurCUE7q
Nurse was asked about the Sixers' struggles in the fourth quarter — both as an offense and on the defensive glass, where their struggles from Game 1 of the series resurfaced. He quickly credited the Knicks — Anunoby and Achiuwa, in particular — for slowing down the Sixers.
"I thought OG and Precious and those guys were really a factor," Nurse said. "They were both very energetic, very athletic, getting their hands of some balls... It certainly became a big factor in the fourth."
After all, if anyone is cognizant of the potential that those two players have, especially as defensive players, it is Nurse. The Sixers' head coach coached each of them when they were all members of the Toronto Raptors organization before this season.
Nurse was Achiuwa's head coach for the second and third years of his career — Toronto acquired Achiuwa via a trade with Miami after Achiuwa's rookie year (the player who went to the Heat in that deal: Lowry). Nurse was an assistant coach for the Raptors during Anunoby's rookie season, and took over the team for the following five seasons.
"Me and Kyle against OG and Precious tonight?" Nurse joked before Game 1 of the series tipped off last week. "I don't think those are the matchups."
What made the Sixers' Game 3 victory so encouraging for the team was that Embiid — and, to an extent, Maxey — decided that the night was going to be about them. No matter what Brunson did, no matter how New York's collection of role players was able to impact the game, the Sixers' two All-Stars were going to put their collective foot down and ensure their team came away victorious.
In Game 4, not only did Embiid and Maxey not do that — opening the door for players like Anunoby and Achiuwa to have a chance to swing the game in the Knicks' direction — Brunson did. And in every way that the Sixers struggled to score in crucial moments during this game, Brunson looked primed for the moment.
Brunson scored nine points in the fourth quarter — and it was his lowest-scoring quarter of the game. His 47-point, 10-assist masterclass was jaw-dropping, and he capped it off with some big-time buckets down the stretch. In other words, Brunson did exactly what Embiid and the Sixers failed to do.
And now, the series heads back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday, with the Sixers' season on the line after they sunk themselves with a putrid final dozen minutes in Game 4.
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