The Philadelphia 76ers lost game 2 to the New York Knicks 104-101 on Monday, leaving them with a 0-2 deficit in the series and facing an uphill battle to avoid a sweep.
Despite holding a 101-96 lead with under 30 seconds remaining, Philadelphia surrendered a three-pointer to Donte DiVincenzo after a controversial non-call on a turnover by Tyrese Maxey.
76ers head coach Nick Nurse and Joel Embiid expressed outrage at the officiating, claiming that a timeout should have been called before Maxey’s turnover. Embiid called the incident “f—ing unacceptable.”
Despite the setback, Embiid remains confident in the 76ers’ ability to rally and win the series. He stated, “We’re gonna win this series. We know what we’ve got to fix. We did a better job today, so we’re gonna fix it. We’re the better team and we’re gonna keep fighting.”
The Knicks, on the other hand, are not fully satisfied with their performance and recognize the need to improve their defense as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Thursday.