NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers had their opportunity in Game 2 against the New York Knicks on Monday. Tyrese Maxey hit a step-back 3 to give Philadelphia a 100-96 lead with 1:09 left to silence the Madison Square Garden crowd as it appeared the Sixers had it wrapped up.
Then, chaos ensued. Jalen Brunson pulled the Knicks to within two, 101-99, with 27.1 seconds left before Philadelphia had trouble getting the ball in. Maxey appeared to be fouled twice on the inbounds pass. However, there was no call and he ended up turning the ball over in the corner.
New York’s Donte DiVincenzo missed a wing triple. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to DiVincenzo for an open triple. The Knicks walked away with a 104-101 win to take a 2-0 series lead.
“I don’t remember,” Maxey said. “I just tried to get the ball. We threw it inbounds. It was hard for me to catch it. I had to sweep through a couple guys. I tried. I tried my best.”
A lot of the focus after Game 2 will be on the officiating. After all, the Sixers are filing a grievance to the league about what happened in both Game 1 and Game 2. However, if Philadelphia had just grabbed a rebound off DiVincenzo’s first missed triple, things would have been different.
“Just got to rebound,” Maxey said. “I can’t turn the ball over. I can’t lose the ball and we’ve got to get the rebound.”
The Sixers intend to file a grievance with the NBA over the officiating across the first two games of their series with New York Knicks, according to a team spokesman.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) April 23, 2024
Maxey had 35 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, to try and lift the Sixers to a Game 2 win. It’s unfortunate when considering he was playing through an illness that has been bothering him for a bit since Game 1 of this series.
“I don’t feel great at all, honestly,” he stated. “I don’t like taking medicine. Everybody knows that. I really can’t stand taking medicine, but I took medicine. I had to take an IV. I did whatever they asked me to do. I wasn’t missing the game. It didn’t matter. I don’t feel great.”
Maxey and the Sixers will have to find a way now to bounce back from one of the more heartbreaking losses they have ever had to go through and prepare for Game 3 on Thursday.
[lawrence-related id=94121,94117,94083]