Nick Nurse rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers after attending his brother’s funeral and said his brother Steve would have wanted him to be at Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the report says.
The report says Nurse was in Ankeny, Iowa, on Tuesday, the day between the first two games of the series against the Knicks in New York. He returned to coach the 76ers in the semifinal matchup.
Nurse addressed how he managed the schedule, saying, “I mean, kind of the film and the practice and the game and all that stuff kind of takes care of some time, right?” The report says he added, “But I’m here coaching and my brother would expect me to be. He was a huge fan. He wants us to go play, he wants us to play hard, so that’s what we’re going to try to do tonight.”
The report says Steve Nurse died unexpectedly at age 62 last Wednesday. Nick Nurse had remained with the 76ers as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to knock off Boston in the first round, then fell to the Knicks 137-98 on Monday.
Nurse said he and his family had received a lot of support during the period, per the report. He thanked opposing coach Mike Brown for offering his condolences when Nurse began his news conference after the Knicks practiced Tuesday.
Per the report, Nurse returned to the team with the stated intent of coaching and honoring his brother’s wishes, and he emphasized the plan to play hard in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
