PHILADELPHIA — In the wake of winning Game 3 with at least one play labeled “dirty” by the Knicks, Sixers coach Nick Nurse didn’t want his team to tone it down.
“I think about every time these two teams play each other — regular season or playoffs — it’s a rivalry, man,” Nurse said Friday.
“It’s intense. It’s got history. It’s physical. Now, it’s the playoffs on top of it, right? As far as did I say, ‘Hey calm down’? No. I think they were kinda isolated incidents. It seemed like they happened right on top of each other there for a bit. They just happened, but it’s physical, man. You never know when there’s gonna be a real physical play in that game. It just so happened to be early.”
Joel Embiid was at the center of the physicality while picking up a flagrant foul for dragging down Mitchell Robinson from the court, kicking Robinson in the groin on a jumper and kneeing Isaiah Hartenstein in the groin off the dribble.
Kyle Lowry also got a flagrant foul for slapping Donte DiVincenzo in the face.
All those plays happened in the first half.
About The Author
Leave a Reply