Nurse Credits Maxey’s Defense; Atkinson Points to Pressure After 76ers’ Comeback

“He totally changed the game,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said of Tyrese Maxey’s second-half defense. Asked about Maxey’s full-court pressure, Nurse said his effort gave teammates an emotional spark. Nurse also credited Jaylen Brown’s physical play and said Joel Embiid was coming away with contested balls, while cautioning that he still needed to review the tape.

Kenny Atkinson on Cleveland’s Ball Movement

“you can’t go into pressure. You got to go away from pressure,” Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Cleveland’s limited ball movement. He said individual dribbling had played into Philadelphia’s pressure and advocated simple passes. Atkinson blamed the offensive problems and live-ball turnovers for exposing the defense, while crediting his players for continuing to compete.

Source: Philadelphia’s official Nick Nurse postgame recording, reviewed through its complete auto-generated transcript.

Source: Cleveland’s official Kenny Atkinson postgame recording, reviewed through its complete official captions.

Final: Philadelphia 114, Cleveland 106, October 22, 2026.

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