Giglio: 'Nick Nurse was difference, no chance they win with Glenn Rivers'

Joe Giglio believes 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and his ability to adjust was the difference in Wednesday night's massive comeback play-in win over the Heat, a game Giglio believes would have been a loss with Doc Rivers as head coach.

"They lose that game every single time in the last four or five years in the playoffs, yet they didn't lose that game last night," Giglio said on Thursday's 94WIP Midday Show with Hugh Douglas.

"They got a coach," he continued. "Let's just be real, there's no chance they win that game with Glenn Rivers on the sideline."

Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat stifled Philadelphia in the first half with their zone defense, as the Sixers had just 39 points and 12 turnovers on 2-14 three point shooting in the first half and went into the locker room down 12. Then, Nurse and the Sixers adjusted and finally made some shots, largely thanks to Nicolas Batum.

Giglio said there were two things Nurse did that Rivers would not have.

"Nurse adjusted in the second half," Giglio said. "One, he got [Tyrese] Maxey to attack more, kind of broke the zone down. He had the courage to do two things that Glenn Rivers wouldn't have done. Number one, he had the courage to get Tobias Harris off of the floor because he was killing them last night!

"And the other thing I thought he had the courage to do, and I'm sure if this is tactical thing, if it was just subtle...You noticed in the second half, the offense wasn't going through Embiid as much...I thought Nick Nurse's ability to adjust in that game was the difference last night."