The New York Knicks took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to one of the great late comebacks in recent playoff memory on Monday night. With 30 seconds to play, Philadelphia held a commanding five-point lead.
It was a chaotic and controversial sequence that saw Jalen Brunson finally get the lid off the basket with a bouncing three-pointer, which the Sixers followed up by bizarrely not calling a timeout to advance it immediately. Once they got it in to Tyrese Maxey, he got trapped and it certainly looked like he was fouled, but the refs allowed a play on and Donte DiVincenzo got an open look at the lead. That went begging, but Isaiah Hartenstein flew in for an offensive rebound and the ball swung back out to DiVincenzo who did not miss the second attempt.
From there, Hartenstein blocked Maxey at the rim on a go-ahead layup attempt and the OG Anunoby iced the game at the free throw line.
There were so many factors that went into the Knicks win, but one Philly folks could not get past was the referees not calling a foul on Maxey. , calling it “f**king unacceptable,” and the over the officiating in the first two games. That won’t do much of anything, but maybe they can get a couple calls to go their way going forward.
Whether it’s too little too late remains to be seen, but Knicks fans at the Garden were absolutely glowing after the win. Among them was Stephen A. Smith, who was seated courtside and had a great view of the ending chaos, and on the next morning, he could not deny that Maxey got “mugged.”
Stephen A. Smith provides his perspective on the end of the Knicks-Sixers game from his courtside seat at Madison Square Garden. “I saw Tyrese Maxey get mugged if I’m being totally honest. He got fouled at least two or three teams. There’s no reason on Earth why that call… — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing)”
No one is better at TV delivery than Stephen A., who starts by solemnly noting he witnessed a mugging at the Garden before letting his smile loose while talking about how the Sixers got hosed but Knicks fans, like himself, are thrilled.
This series would have a totally different feel if that final 30 seconds went differently, and while the referees certainly are a central story, the Sixers also had a number of chances to keep them from being part of the story and didn’t make that happen.
