Many former players and celebrities attended this crucial game at Madison Square Garden. While the improbable Philadelphia comeback shocked comedian Jon Stewart (who later had a hilarious tweet about it), none seemed angrier after Maxey’s heroics than Morgan and Stiller.
Take a look at the replay of Maxey’s celebration and see if you can spot the pure rage and vitriol from Morgan, the comedian who is widely known for his work on 30 Rock:
Goooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you for rocking with us today. We appreciate you for giving us a bit of your time today.
One thing about me is that I’ll always admit when I’m wrong.
I love coming here and telling everyone when I’m right. I don’t do it often, but it is one of my favorite things to do. I just did it with the Suns on Monday.
If I’m going to do that, then it’s only right that I do the same when I’m wrong about something. Especially when I’m so terribly wrong about something like I was about Tyrese Maxey.
Was he great? That’s always been the question. And I’ve always believed the answer was no.
Until last night, anyway.
It’s not even that Maxey dropped 46 points to save the 76ers season when nobody had it in them. The dude is an All-Star. That’s what All-Stars do. I’m not surprised by that.
What did shock me, though, was Maxey scoring 7 points on two shots in the final 25 seconds of the game to tie the game and send it into overtime. That was insane. That was legendary. That was the moment I knew.
As if drawing a 4-point play in the clutch wasn’t shocking enough, the dude followed it up by draining a logo 3-pointer with the season on the line to send the game into overtime.
The audacity to pull that off in Madison Square Garden when you’re down by three points with your playoff lives on the line. It simply does not compute. It literally broke Jon Stewart.
Tyrese Maxey is here, man. This dude has arrived. He’s a star with a bigger playoff moment than some of the best players in the world that we know, and he’s only 23 years old.
The spotlight is yours, Tyrese. I see that now. I’m sorry I ever doubted it.
Not again, Mike Trout
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The first chapter of the Mike Trout career post-mortem (whenever that comes along) should be that he was the best baseball player of his generation. I don’t care that the playoff success isn’t there. That’s never been on Trout. He’s always been incredible.
If the first chapter is about his greatness, the second will probably be about his injuries. Trout just hasn’t been able to stay healthy, man.
This is so unfortunate. Injuries keep taking away from Trout’s greatness. He’s only played in 237 of 486 possible games since 2021, according to CBS Sports. That’s not a great ratio.
Hopefully, Trout will be back and healthy soon enough.
The Pacers missed a big opportunity on Tuesday night and may end up paying dearly for it.
Indiana lost 112-95 to an extremely shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks team. Both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokoumpo missed the game with their various injuries.
With Giannis and Damian Lillard out, the Bucks become the first team EVER to win a playoff game without their top-2 scorers from the regular season. H/t @StatsWilliams
Now, by extending the series, Milwaukee has given their best players a chance to come back potentially. Doc Rivers said they’re both “very close” to making a return, according to ESPN.
Tough luck, Indy. We’ll see how things develop from here.
Quick hits: Lakers head coaching candidates … BEEF … and more
Jon Stewart had the best (worst?) seats in the house for this brutal loss.
Knicks fan and comedian Jon Stewart had amazing seats when Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers stormed back to force overtime in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Maxey, who had a stunning 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation at Madison Square Garden in New York, took the air out of what was otherwise a ruckus building.
His incredible shot left many New York fans, including Stewart, shocked. As he celebrated his accomplishment, Stewart’s priceless reaction was captured in the background on the broadcast.
After the game, once he had time to process what happened and check his phone to see that his reaction turned into a meme, Stewart tweeted out his thoughts.
He said that while has has “respect” for what Maxey did against his beloved Knicks, he is “clearly” getting too old for this type of heartbreak.
Fortunately for Stewart, the Knicks still maintain a series lead over the 76ers. But his favorite NBA team could have advanced to the next round with a win against Philadelphia and now they’ll have to extend the series.
Tyrese Maxey reacts to saving the Philadelphia 76ers, the emotion of the moment, and gave a shoutout to Buddy Hield.
NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers should be heading into the offseason. They trailed the New York Knicks 96-90 with 28.2 seconds left on the road in Madison Square Garden against a team that has had their number all season.
That should have been it. The Sixers should not be preparing for another basketball game on Thursday. If it wasn’t for Tyrese Maxey, they wouldn’t be.
Maxey saved the Sixers. He threw them on his back by converting a 4-point play and then a logo 3 to tie the game at 97 and force overtime. Philadelphia eventually walked away with the 112-106 win thanks to Maxey’s playoff career-high 46 points.
“That’s just a lot of reps,” Maxey said after the win. “Going right, throwing the ball out, chasing it. Rico’s (Hines) been on me all year about shooting deep ones. I’ve been working on it all year, so it paid off.”
The Sixers needed this from Maxey. It was mandatory. He struggled in the fourth quarter of the Game 4 loss to the Knicks at home. He needed to step up and make plays with the season on the line. He remembered that heading into this one.
“I just remember the last fourth quarter, I wasn’t in rhythm,” Maxey recalled. “I didn’t play well I wasn’t aggressive. I refused to let that happen this time. I came out aggressive as soon as the fourth quarter started, as soon as we got the ball, I was being aggressive, and being aggressive doesn’t mean shooting every single time. It’s just making the plays — making the play every single time you have the ball, being aggressive, being a threat to score.”
Oh, he was certainly a threat to score. This is what Maxey has been doing all season. He has stepped up in big moments to ensure the Sixers walk away with wins when they probably should have been losses.
Game 5 wasn’t perfect. He needed a pick-me-up from Buddy Hield, who has been out of the rotation since Game 3. After Maxey missed two free throws in the fourth, Hield had a message for him.
“I missed those three free throws, man,” Maxey added. “I’m going to give a quick shoutout to Buddy Hield because I was on the bench and I was really upset with myself. I’d missed three free throws, turned the ball over, and Buddy Hield just grabbed me and said, ‘Listen, dude, you know what you can do. Go out there and make up for it.’ I really do appreciate Buddy for that, man. I know it’s going to go unnoticed, but it was big time of him.”
There was a great deal of emotion at the end of regulation. Maxey hit the 3 and then Philadelphia produced a stop to get to overtime. The star guard let out a yell and waved his arms in the air going back down the court.
“I was saying some things that my grandma probably wouldn’t like, honestly,” Maxey laughed. “Listen, that’s a lot of emotion. I’m a happy guy, but I really hate losing. I missed three free throws — crucial free throws — and then I turned the ball over late. People don’t see me upset a lot, but I was really upset. I just wanted to go out there and make up for it for my teammates, man.”
Maxey saved the season. Now, he’s got to do it again in Game 6.
The former Warrior wing notched 14 points in the Sixers’ thrilling win over the Knicks in Game 5 of their first round playoff series.
While Kevin Durant’s season came to an end after the Phoenix Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, another former member of the Golden State Warriors is still alive in a thrilling first-round series in the postseason.
Despite the New York Knicks holding a 3-1 lead the Philadelphia 76ers in front of a fiery crowd at Madison Square Garden, a heroic effort from Tyrese Maxey helped the Sixers extend the series.
The former Kentucky guard drilled a ridiculous 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime against the Knicks. In overtime, the Sixers pulled away to secure a much-needed 112-106 win to put the series at 3-2.
Jalen Brunson continued his impressive postseason with 40 points on 15-of-32 shooting from the field with six assists and three boards in 51 minutes. Maxey countered with 46 points on 17-of-30 shooting from the field with nine assists and five rebounds in 52 minutes.
Former Warrior Kelly Oubre Jr. tacked on 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field with four rebounds in 39 minutes during the Sixers win on Tuesday evening in New York City.
The series will now shift back to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.
Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers were left in awe of Tyrese Maxey after he saved them against the New York Knicks.
NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers looked dead in the water against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. New York’s Miles McBride made a mid-range jumper to put the Knicks up 96-90 with 28.2 seconds left and it felt like that was the dagger.
The obituaries for the 2023-24 season were being written. The Sixers looked defeated and headed toward elimination.
In the blink of an eye, Tyrese Maxey changed that. He converted a ridiculous 4-point play to bring Philadelphia within 96-94 and then drilled a logo triple to tie it and force overtime. The Sixers went on to win 112-106 in overtime and stave off elimination.
“It went in our favor thanks to Tyrese Maxey,” said Joel Embiid who had a triple-double, but nine turnovers. “He was unbelievable. Hitting big shots after big shots. Especially, with everything going on. Tobias (Harris) was amazing throughout the whole game. I think all my teammates. They did their job. Yeah. We got the win.”
Maxey has always been a confident kid. He exuded it on Tuesday. To have the guts to take and make the shots he made down the stretch is impressive and he carried the Sixers to a win and to fight another day.
“I saw confidence,” added Kelly Oubre Jr. “A will to not lose. I saw a big time player make a big time shot and I would expect nothing less.”
In the moment, Maxey did what he had to do. He made sure he got that shot up quick enough for Philadelphia to make a move and to continue to push forward. Coach Nick Nurse was just happy he did what he was supposed to do in that moment.
“We had to get it up the floor quick and get a 3-ball up, right?” said Nurse. “I’m glad we didn’t try to mess around and try to keep working for something or whatever. We had a little play call that has a counter to it and one of the options is just him pulling up and I know that was a deep one, but he raced it up there and took his chance.”
All season long, Maxey has proven to be a star player. He is going to do what he has to do with the season on the line to make sure Philadelphia is in the best position to win basketball games. He has been doing that all season long. Just Maxey being Maxey.
“Tyrese being Tyrese, man,” smiled Paul Reed. “Great players make great plays. Tonight, he made some great plays down the stretch that really sealed the win for us. He was awesome.”
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey hit the shot of the playoffs so far on Tuesday night as he drilled a stunning 3-pointer from near halfcourt to send Game 5 of his team’s playoff series with the New York Knicks to overtime.
The cold-blooded bucket further proves why Maxey is a shining star in this new generation of NBA players, and why Knicks fans just can’t have nice things, even when they’re in Madison Square Garden.
Well, Maxey stunned the MSG crowd, part-time Daily Show host Jon Stewart included. A camera caught the legendary comedian’s reaction to the Maxey 3-pointer, one of absolutely befuddlement at what in the world just happened.
Stewart’s shocked reaction was just priceless, as anyone who has ever had a basket scored on their team like that in the playoffs can empathize with just how jarring it is.
The 76ers prevented being eliminated with the 112-106 overtime victory, keeping its hopes alive of evening things out later this week. Like all Knicks fans, Stewart will probably keep ruminating on how this happened, especially if Philly pulls off the improbable 3-1 series comeback.
The Philadelphia 76ers address Joel Embiid scoring only one point in the fourth quarter in the Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had to find a way to get Joel Embiid involved late against the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday.
Just three days after scoring a playoff career-high 50 points in the Game 3 win, Embiid was held to a pedestrian — by his standards — 27 points in the Game 4 loss.
Even worse, Embiid had 13 points after halftime on 2-for-7 shooting. He had exactly one point in the fourth quarter on 0-for-5 shooting with the game in the balance.
The Knicks had Isaiah Hartenstein on the bench due to foul trouble and turned to former Nick Nurse disciples OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. The two held Embiid in check.
“Well, he did a good job,” Nurse said of Anunoby defending Embiid. “OG can, obviously, guard him. It’s that and the scheme as well. When he got it, they were getting it out of his hands, and I think he made really great reads. You guys can see those plays just like I can in your head right now where we’re swinging around. We got Kelly (Oubre Jr.) on a back cut for a layup, we got swing around 3s, we got pass, pass, wide-open corner 3s. When you’re making the right reads, you gotta step up and make them.”
Embiid made the right reads. The Sixers missed shots. That caused the Knicks to ignore shooters and focus on the big fella. However, he’s the reigning league MVP.
Yes, he is dealing with the leg issue and Bell’s Palsy. Yes, he deserves every ounce of respect from everybody for playing through that, but he needs to demand the ball and take games over in the fourth.
Maybe he ran out of gas. That could have been a big factor given he played all 24 minutes after halftime due to the team’s struggles with him off the floor in the first half.
“It was difficult,” added Maxey on Embiidd’s lack of production in the fourth. “I mean, again, that’s on like me and KLow (Kyle Lowry) because they trapped him almost every single time he caught the ball. So that’s extremely hard to it’s hard to be aggressive when you get trapped. He made the right plays for the most part. I think, guys missed shots.”
Maxey shot 8-for-21 on the day. That doesn’t help Philadelphia, but for Embiid to score only one point in the fourth quarter in the biggest game of the season is a big issue.
“I missed a couple shots,” Maxey admitted. “I missed a couple layups that I normally make. We missed a couple of 3s, but I felt like Jo did a great job of reading the defense. They came and trapped him, he kicked it out, and we got some shots that just didn’t fall today.”
The Sixers need Embiid to be superhuman when they go back into Madison Square Garden on Tuesday looking to extend their season.
Tyrese Maxey has a message for the Philadelphia 76ers as they face elimination against the New York Knicks.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in a tough position. They are facing elimination following a 97-92 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 4 at home. The series shifts back to Madison Square Garden as Philadelphia looks to keep the season alive.
The Knicks do what they did down the stretch. They grabbed seven offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points in the fourth quarter and they neutralized Joel Embiid. The big fella had one point and one rebound in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey had 23 points on 8-for-21 shooting with six rebounds and six assists, but it just wasn’t enough. Now? The Sixers have to fight for their lives in a raucous environment in New York.
“The message you send is it’s first to four,” said Maxey. “They have three already, so we have to go up there and fight for our lives. Fight for our season. That’s what it is.”
Maxey and the Sixers will have their chances. Philadelphia held a 61-51 lead with 7:59 left in the third quarter before a slew of mistakes allowed the Knicks back into the game.
Embiid and Maxey had a miscommunication on a couple of different offensive sets, and New York continued to chip away and battle.
“One of them was the outlet,” Maxey reflected. “One of them was with me and Joel, miscommunication. I was about to go back door. He thought I was coming up for the handoff. So that’s on both of us, and it’s funny that he just said that before I came over here he was like ‘Man, those three or four possessions where we turned the ball over came back to bite us,’ but we just moved on from it.”
The Sixers had their chances. Just as they did in games 1 and 2 in New York. Now, they have to get the job done to keep their season alive.
“I think we were still up I think 10,” Maxey continued. “I think (Donte) DiVincenzo, those two 3s that he hit was huge and the 3 in the corner. So it’s alright though. I mean, it is what is. We live to see another day. We know what we gotta do.”
Multiple members of the Philadelphia 76ers give their take on the rebounding struggles in the Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had their chances on Sunday against the New York Knicks. It was a Game 4 in their building down 2-1 in the series and the game was in the balance down the stretch.
A familiar issue popped up for the Sixers in this series: the inability to keep the Knicks off the glass.
New York grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter that led to 11 second-chance points. Joel Embiid grabbed one rebound in the final frame.
“I think part of it is, obviously, their best player that they trust and they don’t care if he takes 40 shots a game,” Embiid said after the loss. “I think most of the time when you’re in rotation or when you’re trying to load up to make sure he doesn’t get easy shots, that kinda gives them a lot of open lanes to just attack the offensive glass. It almost seems like they just know he’s gonna shoot it and they’re just getting ready to offensive rebound.”
Rebounding has been a key point in this series. Coach Nick Nurse has pointed it out to this group all series, and the Knicks were still able to do what they do down the stretch. OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa combined for five of the seven offensive rebounds.
“You know what’s crazy about that is Nurse kept saying, he’s going to show them film from Game 1,” added Tyrese Maxey. “Games 2 and 3, we did a great job of just boxing out and grabbing every single rebound for the most part, until the end of Game 2.”
Before Game 4, Nurse made it a point to show the Sixers the importance of crashing the glass.
“He said it, he kept saying it, he kept saying it before the game, ‘Guys, I promise you they are going to show them film, Thibs is going to show them film from Game 1 saying listen this is how we have to beat this team. We have to go in there, we have to go in there and grab every single rebound.’” Maxey added. “And for the most part, we did a decent job, it’s just the fourth quarter they got some extra possessions that cost us.”
Even with the rebounding struggles in the fourth quarter, there was a stretch in the third when it appeared the Sixers would pull away. Philadelphia was unable to do so, and it allowed the Knicks to stay in it.
“I thought in that second half, that third quarter stretch, we had too many possessions where we didn’t get a look up there,” added Tobias Harris. “Whether it was a turnover or just disorganization from us on the offensive end and then they were able to capitalize, but the name of the game was that stretch that we had there and also, on the offensive boards for them.”
At the end of the day, the Sixers needed to execute on the glass and were unable to do so.
“I think we had a lot of bad bounces,” added Embiid. “You look at the game, every single shot, it just felt like it kept falling in their hands. Sometimes, you can do the best job possible to try and box out, but if the ball doesn’t bounce your way, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
