Nick Nurse Discusses Defending the Inbounds Pass & Regrets From Game 3

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse explains all the mistakes that led up to the Philadelphia 76ers clinching Game 3 on Joel Embiid's miraculous game-winner

Aaron Rose | Apr 22, 2022

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, Joel Embiid's turnaround game-winning three-pointer was the final nail in the coffin for the Toronto Raptors, but to Raptors coach Nick Nurse, that one shot wasn't what cost Toronto in Game 3.

In a three-point overtime loss, any one moment could have tilted the game in Toronto's favor. Had Precious Achiuwa made one of his free throws at the end of regulation, the Raptors likely would have won. Had Fred VanVleet nailed one of his wide-open three-points or Pascal Siakam played with a little more aggression in the second half, this series could be 2-1. Even a simple switch ahead of that inbounds pass to Embiid may have turned the tide for Toronto, stopping the Philadelphia 76ers' superstar from nailing the off-balanced three.

Looking back, Toronto would have been better off having someone defending the pass to Embiid, but Nurse said he was more concerned about a big scoring in the paint than a three-point shot considering the tied score at the time.

"If I could go back and do it again, I’d like to change about three things that we did. But we didn’t execute. And he hit a really tough shot," he said following Friday's practice.

Nurse seemed the most frustrated with the lack of defensive execution prior to the shot. Had the Raptors switched on Tobias Harris' questionably legal screen to free up Embiid, as had been the plan, someone would have been right up against the 76ers center defending his shot.

"It wasn’t that complicated. If we just make one switch, it would have been fine," he said.

But, it wasn't just that moment that burned Toronto.

"We had about seven other chances to put that game way in the last minute and 30 seconds. Missed three out of four free throws. Our best 3-point shooter was wide open and missed. Our next-best scorer was wide open at the elbow. We have to make one of those plays and the game is probably put away," he said.

Now the Raptors are on the edge of extinction facing a task that has never been accomplished before. In the history of the NBA, 143 teams have fallen behind 0-3 in a series and not one has ever come back.

“Well, I think it’s a heckuva challenge, and somebody’s got to do it," Nurse said. "That’s the way I look at it. Somebody’s got to do it."

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