76ers looking to move on, bounce back vs. Knicks in Game 2 on the road

NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a miserable 137-98 loss in Game 1 to the New York Knicks on Monday to fall behind 1-0 in their Round 2 series. The Sixers looked like they had no energy as they were unable to match anything the Knicks did on the night.

Fatigue was certainly a factor for the Sixers as they were coming off an emotional Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics in Round 1 after rallying from being down 3-1 in the series. They only had a day off and the players discussed that fatigue factor after the Game 1 loss.

Coach Nick Nurse will now be looking to get the Sixers back on the right path as they head into Game 2 on Wednesday night.

"You can't make excuses," Nurse explained. "That's for sure. We knew it might be difficult, but you never are going into the game and say, ‘This is going to happen.’ You got to see it played out, and I really thought it was OK there at the start, but obviously they kind of hit us, I just thought kind of towards the end of the first."

The Knicks shot a ridiculous 63.1% from the floor in Game 1 as the pick-and-roll game led by Jalen Brunson was just too easy for them. The Sixers had no answers to it and it led to them struggling on the defensive end all night long. That has to change heading into Game 2.

"Six straight mid pick-and-rolls were just too easy," Nurse added. "It just wasn't challenged. You gotta challenge one way or the other at the rim, or the 3. Somebody’s got to be running out there to challenge, and they just—we couldn't get around them, back in front of them. We left them open for too many wide-open 3s. We gave up a couple—I think just one, one or two, maybe dunks behind us. We've got to clean all that stuff up."

The Sixers and the Knicks will do battle at 7 p.m. EDT from Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.