The Philadelphia 76ers appeared headed home with a split at Madison Square Garden before the New York Knicks delivered a miraculous closing flourish that will go down in Gotham lore.
Using an 8-0 push in the final 27 seconds that combined good fortune, incredible hustle and big shot-making, the Knicks claimed a 104-101 comeback victory over the 76ers on Monday night and took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. In typical Knicks fashion, all five players contributed winning plays during the decisive stretch.
“There’s been some pretty wild finishes,” Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That was right up there with the best of them. That just shows you what the playoffs are all about. Oftentimes, it’s the hustle play here or the hustle play there and just finding a way to win.”
The stage for the late-game dramatics was set when 76ers guard Kyle Lowry missed his second free throw with 47 seconds left and the Knicks trailing 101-96. New York pushed the ball up the court and initially struggled to find a good shot while nearly losing possession during a scramble in the paint. As the shot clock ticked down, Donte DiVincenzo found Jalen Brunson in the left corner for a three-pointer that bounced high off the rim before improbably dropping through with 16 seconds remaining.
Philadelphia then attempted to inbound the ball to Tyrese Maxey, who fumbled the inbounds pass after Brunson appeared to tug at his waist. Maxey reclaimed possession as he fell to the court, but the 76ers were unable to call a timeout before Knicks guard Josh Hart pounced on him.
“We take a look at getting it in quick,” 76ers Coach Nick Nurse said. “We don’t get it in quick. I call time out. The referee looked right at me and ignored me. [The ball] went in to Tyrese [and I] called time out again. Then the melee started. I’m not going to say I need to run out onto the floor or do something to get his attention. I needed a timeout there to advance it. Would have been good. Didn’t get it. ... I just watched the film just to make sure. I’m clearly calling time out. I didn’t see if [the referee] looked at me on the film, but I could see me clearly calling time out twice.”
With no stoppage, Hart took control of the ball and frantically found DiVincenzo, who missed an open three-pointer from the left wing. New York got another shot, however, thanks to Isaiah Hartenstein, who skied over multiple 76ers for an offensive rebound and passed the ball to OG Anunoby before crashing to the court.
“It was crazy,” Hart said. “It was hectic. But at that point, we had nothing to lose. We’ve got to be as physical as we can [in that situation], and it panned out.”
Anunoby worked the ball to DiVincenzo, who drilled an open three-pointer from the top of the key to give New York a 102-101 lead, sending the Garden into hysterics.
“After I missed the first one, I was really, really, really, really hoping that Isaiah got it because I knew with the rotation I would get a second look,” DiVincenzo said. “Thank God he got the offensive rebound. ... I don’t think our confidence ever wavered. It wasn’t like the game was over. It never is, especially playing for [Thibodeau].”
The Knicks held on for the win with a Hartenstein block of Maxey on the 76ers’ ensuing possession and a pair of free throws from Anunoby with six seconds left. Joel Embiid missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, sending the Knicks home with a wild victory.
“The writers always think the games are over,” Thibodeau said. “I never think the games are over. It shows you that you can make up ground very quickly. A three goes in, you get a steal, another three, and the next thing you know the game changes. That’s how quick it can change. You need good fortune. Sometimes the ball bounces your way.”
Brunson scored a team-high 24 points despite shooting 8 for 29 from the field. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures.
“One thing about this team, no one really cares about who’s doing what or who gets the credit,” Brunson said. “We just want to go out there and win.”
Maxey scored a game-high 35 points in 44 minutes despite being listed as questionable with an illness earlier Monday.
“I can’t turn the ball over,” Maxey said. “I can’t lose the ball. And we’ve got to get the rebound. ... We’ve got to put it behind us now. We’ve got 48 hours to think about it and come up with a plan to get two [wins] at home.”
Philadelphia, which has reached the second round in five of the past six seasons, will host Game 3 on Thursday.
“We’re good,” said Embiid, who fought through recurring pain in his surgically repaired left knee to post 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. “We’re going to win this series. We’re going to win this. We know what we’ve got to fix. We did a better job today, so we’re going to fix it. We’re the better team, and we’re going to keep fighting.”
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