Nick Nurse breaks down where 76ers went wrong vs. Pelicans

Nick Nurse broke down why the Philadelphia 76ers faltered in their upset loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

Nurse is going through the eighth year of his head coaching career, his third with the 76ers. He has kept the franchise stable while developing its young and rising backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, having them be in the playoff picture this season. However, the team tends to underperform in some of their contests, especially with their latest loss to the Pelicans.

Nurse reflected on the loss after the game, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. He pointed out shooting struggles from beyond the arc, seeing how New Orleans took advantage of Philadelphia’s woes.

“We went 3-for-24 from three ourselves; that had a lot of opportunity for them to play off misses. They were like 12-for-20 or something. And I just think that we weren’t up quite enough on some of them, some of them were caused by penetration that we’re just getting beat too easy into the lane and it was a straight line drive to a straight line pass out, and we just didn’t do well enough at keeping our guy in front and then being able to get back and challenge hard enough, right?” Nurse said.

Nick Nurse breaks down where the Sixers fell short offensively and defensively in their matchup with the Pelicans. | @Kia pic.twitter.com/4fw89F9u27

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 22, 2026

How Nick Nurse, 76ers performed against Pelicans

Nick Nurse and the 76ers have the talent to make noise in the playoffs. However, their loss to the Pelicans shows they still have work to do to get to that next step.

Four players scored in double-digits for Philadelphia in the loss, including Maxey. He finished with a stat line of 27 points, seven assists, five steals, and three rebounds. He shot 9-of-23 from the field, including 2-of-11 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Kelly Oubre Jr. came next with 25 points and five rebounds, VJ Edgecombe had 14 points and five rebounds, while Quentin Grimes provided 11 points and three assists.

Philadelphia improved to a 30-26 record on the season, holding the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are above the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic while trailing the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Going through four consecutive losses, the 76ers will look to get back on the win column in their next matchup. They remain on the road when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. ET.

The post Nick Nurse breaks down where 76ers went wrong vs. Pelicans appeared first on ClutchPoints.