NBA

76ers-Knicks takeaways: Sixers still alive thanks to Tyrese Maxey’s heroics

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7 months ago

May 1, 2024

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76ers-Knicks takeaways: Sixers still alive thanks to Tyrese Maxey’s heroics

Tyrese Maxey gave the 76ers late life Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and they then managed to extend it.

Maxey drained a long 3-pointer to force overtime and the Sixers did the necessary work there, beating the Knicks 112-106 in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

The Sixers seemed on the brink of defeat before that. Stunned New York still leads the best-of-7 series three games to two with Game 6 looming Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Maxey’s heroics highlighted a night in which he scored a playoff career-best 46 points and the Sixers needed every one. A 4-point play preceded his game-tying 3-pointer.

“Fifty-three hard minutes from everybody,” Maxey told NBC Sports Philly afterward about what keyed the win.

Joel Embiid struggled with his shot all night and finished with 19 points on 7-for-19 aim from the field. He had a game-high 16 rebounds but appeared a tad sluggish defensively and committed nine turnovers.

Tobias Harris had 19 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. 14. Oubre’s basket gave the Sixers the lead for good 108-106 after a flagrant foul on Embiid helped New York have a 4-point possession to tie it. Harris then drained a pair of free throws with :15 to go.

“All it was was guts,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said.

Jalen Brunson, a sparkplug the entire series, led New York with 40. But the Knicks had other weapons and again benefitted, getting Josh Hart’s 18 points, OG Onunoby’s 17 and Miles McBride’s 24.

A sloppy fourth period nearly spelled the 76ers’ doom. They led by as many as five, 77-72 on Maxey’s 3-pointer, early in the fourth quarter but, typically, could neither build nor extend their momentum. A 10-0 run, aided by a couple Embiid turnovers, put the Knicks up 82-77 with 5:42 to go.

Embiid had a shot roll around and off the rim that could have inched the Sixers back ahead with more than two minutes left as the Knicks retained their 87-86 edge then extended it. But after Hart made just one of two foul shots with :15 left, it gave Maxey the chance to drain a long game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds to go. Brunson’s shot on a drive to the basket was then blocked by Nicolas Batum.

Embiid misses shootaround

Embiid did not take part in the 76ers’ shootaround at the Garden on Tuesday morning due to a migraine. Embiid, already questionable due to the troublesome left knee that kept him out the final two months of the regular season, has been struggling with Bell’s Palsy, which affects facial muscles and can cause migraines.

“He was not feeling great. Tough game for him,” Nurse said.

Kelly Oubre Jr. also missed the shootaround due to illness.

But both were in the starting lineup, with Oubre blocking a shot by Donte DiVincenzo on the Knicks’ first possession.

Oubre was then thrown to the floor by Knicks Center Mitchell Robinson with 2:18 left in the first period. Officials reviewed the contact but did not make the foul a flagrant.

The Sixers led 26-17 as the first half closed.

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Second quarter keys Knicks

Down nine entering the second quarter, New York took charge with an 18-2 run. The Knicks led by as many as 10 and carried a 49-43 edge into halftime, having shot 51 percent from the field.

But the Knicks could not sustain that momentum in the third period, as Maxey tied it at 51 and inched the Sixers ahead 53-51 with 8:05 to go.

The lead then changed hands nine times before New York took a 70-69 lead into the fourth period, as the Sixers were boosted by 53-percent third-period aim.

GAME 4 REPORT: Sixers’ season on brink as Knicks Jalen Brunson scores 47

Tough odds down 3-1

NBA teams have rallied to win a best-of-7 series after being down 3-1 just 13 times, showing what difficult odds the 76ers faced going into Game 5 Tuesday.

The first was actually the Boston Celtics in the 1968 Eastern Conference finals against the 76ers. Most recently, Denver rallied from 3-1 down twice in 2020, beating Utah in the Western Conference first round and the Clippers in the Western semifinals.

Close isn’t good enough

NBA games last 48 minutes but are typically decided in the last several.

That has certainly been the case in this series, in which the Sixers lost Game 1 111-104, Game 2 104-101 and Game 4 97-92 and won Game 3 125-114. That’s just a 4-point overall edge for New York entering Game 5 Tuesday.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.