Paul George, Joel Embiid & Tyrese Maxey talk Game 3 loss to Knicks, what Sixers can do to stay alive

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]to help make those guys lives easier.

[00:00:03]>> Um, just try to get stops. Um, you know, they're at their best when they can get out and run and play in transition and, um, you know, get, you know, play early in the clock. I know, uh, you know, they've been trapping a lot with with Tyrese and sending two, um, to him and, um, just being physical with him. So, if he can get out and play early in transition, uh play early before their defense is set, um you know, then I think that's how I can kind of help. Um got to get up or come down with some some rebounds. Um but just try to get some stop, create a little havoc on defense, some chaos, u make them uncomfortable.

[00:00:42]Um you know, and try to steal some possessions. I remember during the Boston series, you were talking about how you thought your guys half court defense mostly was good, but the issue was, you know, ending the possession with the rebound. Do you feel like it's in the same place now where you guys are defending well, but struggling to get the rebound, or do you feel like the the defense itself has become more problematic?

[00:01:01]>> Um, yeah. I mean, I think I think our defense have been good for the most part. I mean, we got to tip tip our hat to JB. He's making some big shots. um he's getting to his spots. Um but it's, you know, it's it's been someone else um that's that's played big and stepped up.

[00:01:21]Whether it's Muel, whether it's um you know, OG, um you know, Carl, like Jod, like they've all had moments, Shammit off the bench tonight. Um they've all had moments where they've made big shots. Um where defensively we've got them down to maybe under five and they come up with a big possession where they make a big shot. Um and and you know those are are draining, you know, especially when our goal is to get the ball out of JB hands and and someone else makes someone else make a play and they're making those plays. Um so it those plays are draining and it's frustrating um from a defense uh from the defense standpoint.

[00:01:58]>> I apologize already asked, but you guys did come back from 3-1 against Boston.

[00:02:03]No team has come back from 03 in NBA history, but do you see some things any similarities, some things that you can take from these games come back in this?

[00:02:11]Yeah, I mean, we're we're right there.

[00:02:12]We're just not finishing the game, you know. I think we're right there. Um, we're putting together three great quarters. Uh, we're just not closing it out. Um, so, you know, I think we just got to take it one game at a time.

[00:02:25]Again, we've been in, you know, position to win these games. Um, give them credit. They've they've been huge down the stretch on their end. Um but you know I think the adjustments we can make limit their possessions their extra and second possessions take one game at a time and you know we'll be back in that three one spot um where we were you know comfortable in in in the first series and you know try to claw our way back into it.

[00:02:52]>> What first of all how are you feeling right now just physically?

[00:02:57]>> Um I'm okay.

[00:02:59]Um yeah, obviously uh tough loss tonight. Um yeah, just got to take it one at a time.

[00:03:06]>> Well, what do you think the main issue is with the rebounding?

[00:03:10]>> I don't know.

[00:03:12]>> I guess down what is the challenge and the message kind of?

[00:03:17]>> Yeah, just uh take it one game at a time. Obviously, we just came back down, you know, 3-1. Um you know, just uh it's a tougher. So, yeah, just going there.

[00:03:28]understanding that, yeah, we can't we can't take, you know, get it all back in one game. Um, so win one, focus on the next one. Um, win the next one. Um, that should be the mentality. Uh, that's the mentality we had early on. Um, you know, uh, last week. So, yeah, just got to have that belief and, you know, believe that you can do it.

[00:03:51]>> Tyrese or I guess how you kind of help him through that move forward in the series. Yeah, just be uh available.

[00:03:59]Everybody has to be uh you know uh you know that I feel like every single time we bling and made us pay um we you know it comes down to shot making. I feel like we had uh a lot of good shots tonight. Uh they made theirs and we just we just make house u yeah just be more available and uh yeah just go from there. after after the comments you made following game seven against Boston about the crowd. Um what what was your reaction to the way the crowd was tonight?

[00:04:31]>> I don't know. I was focused on the game.

[00:04:32]Um I I really wasn't paying attention.

[00:04:37]>> What do you need from your bench moving forward?

[00:04:41]>> I think you know just playing hard. You know everybody you know comes in one of the starters guys coming off the bench.

[00:04:48]um you know just you know just coming trying to play hard um you know rebounding uh big issue tonight um especially in the second quarter when I made that run so you know same mentality we had against Boston just find your man um and most of the time it's the the gods their guards you know just crashing in so instead of looking at the ball just go towards your man and um you know try to do the best shot possible Each game may be different as far as the way it's being officiated. You think in any way there was some stuff being let go tonight or letting more stuff go tonight?

[00:05:27]>> Uh I'm not sure. Um you know uh maybe was that going on on our end. Um they shot 30 32 free throws. We had 16. So uh and we're not a team that shoots a lot of threes. Uh you know we attack with the ball on the ground. So yeah, uh I don't know. Um just got to, you know, I guess it's good when uh New York wins.

[00:05:52]So we just got to have that mentality of uh just, you know, not falling, I guess.

[00:05:58]Um and being smart enough to not put oursel in a position where uh they're going to take advantage of it. you all, you know, Shann did you guys think he had an opportunity with GM out and what do you think?

[00:06:14]>> I mean, it was it was the others.

[00:06:16]Obviously, uh Jay is going to do his thing. Uh he's going to score. So, you can't get frustrated when that happens.

[00:06:22]I thought tonight, you know, we uh we double at the wrong times that made us beat, you know, every single time. Uh but it's the other guys uh OG now. Uh, Bridg has been great. Um, Shet came in, did his thing. Um, so yeah, I think focus on the others. Um, and go from there.

[00:06:47]>> Tyrese, what do you think they did effectively to kind of limit the number of shot attempts that you had, especially in that first half?

[00:06:55]>> They just put two in the ball. every ball screen, every ball screen, every brunting action, they put two in the ball and I felt like I made the right play.

[00:07:05]>> Ty, was was the finger a factor tonight?

[00:07:07]Um, you talked about it after the next game the other night that you jammed it and all. Did it come into play passing, shooting, whatever? Or >> I mean, I I shot the ball well. I shot eight for 12 and I had seven assists.

[00:07:19]So, I I think I did a decent job. I passed the ball when I was supposed to, shot when I was supposed to.

[00:07:27]Tarius, um Mike Brown made a point of talking about the job Male Bridges has done on you in particular in these three games and from your perspective. Has he been particularly effective? And if so, what is he what is he doing in particular?

[00:07:41]>> I am not going to I think Muel is a great defender. I think he's really good what he does. I also think, you know, when you when you're up every screen and you put two on the ball every single time, my job is to get rid of it. Um, you know, that's just that's just how you play basketball in my opinion. You know what I'm saying? If I see two, it's multiple times where I'm dribbling around the bigs and the big just keeps coming and coming and stays with me the entire time. So like at you know, you I pass the ball and that's I think that's I think that's right.

[00:08:12]>> Tar, you're like less than a week removed from, you know, a historic upset for this for this franchise. I guess how does how does that challenge inform what you guys have left to do in this series?

[00:08:25]>> I mean, it's you add a game to it, you know, we want had to win three in a row, now we got to win four in a row. And uh you know, it's still a great challenge and uh hey, you got to go do it. got to either you don't play with any pride and you get swept on your home floor in the second round in the playoffs or you play with some pride and you win one game at a time.

[00:08:49]>> Tyrese, um, without the benefit of looking at film, what you guys will do tomorrow, what do you think that you guys have to do in order to just get one on Sunday?

[00:09:01]Yeah, we gota we got to make some of the like some of these shots too like and like we got to limit the offensive rebounds a little bit. They had 13. I think most of those was in like first half, first and second quarter, but um yeah, we just got to keep playing together, keep playing the right way, and you know, hopefully it'll benefit us and we'll make some shots.

[00:09:26]>> Tyrese, what did you think of what Joel was able to give you guys tonight?

[00:09:30]Yeah, I mean he was he was solid. He did, you know, what Jo does and uh he played hard.

[00:09:37]Sorry.

[00:09:38]>> Times where you guys were cutting deficit into one to two possession in the third quarter, but like just turning the board over. How do you just like avoid those kind of turnovers and what's your mindset going to game four?

[00:09:47]>> Um mindset wise is just try to get a game, get one game at a time. You know what I'm saying? One possession at a time, one play at a time. And then turnovers, uh I would have to go back and look at them in the third quarter. I don't like like recall exactly how they happened, but um I got to go back and look at it and watch