Sixers’ Nick Nurse Cries Foul After 110–105 Loss to Knicks, Highlights Jalen Brunson’s 16 Free Throw Attempts

The New York Knicks pulled off a stunning 110-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers despite Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence. Towns missed the game due to left knee Patellar Tendonopathy after he banged up his knee in the clash against the Celtics. With KAT out, Jalen Brunson shouldered the team’s responsibility, dropping 34 points in a winning cause.

However, the way Brunson got to 34 points didn’t sit well with the 76ers head coach Nick Nurse. The 57-year-old called out the relentless foul calls and how Brunson and the Knicks benefited from the same in his post-game presser.

Nurse brought up how there were hardly any baskets scored in the fourth quarter. He said, “Most of those were free throws at the end, which we didn’t get to shoot any in the fourth quarter.” He believes that the game was decided at the free throw line, which is not a good look in the spirit of competition.

While he claimed that his team didn’t shoot any free throws in the fourth quarter, the reality is that they shot four. Regardless, it doesn’t take anything away from the point he was trying to make as the Knicks shot 12 free throws in the quarter. Nurse then took a jab at Brunson, the lead scorer of the night for his 16 free throws, eight of which came in the fourth.

“We bumped him [Jalen Brunson] a little bit here & there but I think 16 [free throws] was quite a few for him tonight.”

Brunson shot 16 from the charity stripe and made 15 of them. That’s nearly half his total points and it all came from free throws. So, it’s understandable why Nurse wasn’t pleased with the officiating tonight. Overall, the 76ers shot 20 free throws, converting 16 of them whereas the Knicks shot 23 of 29.

Although the loss can’t solely be pinned on the free throws, it did give the Knicks an edge in the second half. The 76ers had a strong second half, outscoring the Knicks 60 to 49, but it was the free-throws that kept the New York side afloat.

This isn’t the first time Nick Nurse has called out poor officiating

Nick Nurse has a history of calling out the officiating in the press when he feels a disparity exists which hurts his team.

In December 2024, when the 76ers played the Magic, Tyrese Maxey missed an opportunity to tie the game with a three-pointer. While speaking to the media, Nurse said that the secondary defender hit Maxey on the arm which derailed his momentum for the shot. The head coach stated that Maxey should’ve received three free throws for the same.

Before he joined the 76ers, Nurse was the head coach for the Raptors. After a first-round playoff game against the 76ers, he was advised by Joel Embiid to not cry foul over free throws. In that game, Embiid took 14 free throws, which was more than the entire Raptors team. His 31-point game helped the 76ers take a 2-0 lead in the series.

12 of Embiid’s free throws came in the first quarter, which Nurse believed put his team at a disadvantage. However, Embiid advised him to not cry over it. “I told him, respectfully, I told him to stop b***ing about calls,” he said.