Up by six points and with 28.2 seconds to go Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks had the second round of the NBA playoffs in their sights.
No one told that to Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey scored seven points in the final 25 seconds of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series between the Knicks and 76ers to send the game into overtime. The 76ers eventually won the game 112-106.
Maxey drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three points with 25.1 seconds left. He went to the free throw line after Knicks center Mitchel Robinson fouled him on the shot, and nailed the and-1 free throw to bring the deficit to 2.
Knicks guard Josh Hart hit 1 of 2 free throws to bring the lead back to 3 with 15.1 seconds left, but Maxey cashed on a 3-pointer from the Knicks’ logo to tie the game with 8.1 seconds.
This shot… so ridiculous. Some
Maxey magic.— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) May 1, 2024
He added another five points in overtime as the 76ers kept their postseason alive and finished with a playoff career-high 46 points.
When discussing the wild sequence Wednesday on ESPN’s “First Take,” die-hard Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith was quick to share his frustration with his favorite team.
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“What the hell y’all think happened?” Smith said when asked if the Knicks gave the game away.
“How the hell do you lose that game?” he said.
Smith blamed Robinson’s foul on Maxey’s first 3-pointer and Hart’s missed free throw for the shocking collapse.
The ESPN host also was critical of Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson for taking eight of the team’s 10 shots in overtime.
“He forgot he was a point guard,’ Smith said. “He forgot he had teammates. … In overtime, he forgot all the things that made him great.
“He looked incredibly selfish.”
Smith’s comments were right on the money. When it came time to be clutch, the Knicks dropped the ball.
They wasted a golden opportunity to move on to the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in the last 10 years. Now, they’ve given the 76ers the momentum as the series heads back to Philadelphia for Game 6.
Despite the blunder, the Knicks still lead the series 3-2. But if they want to move on and make a deep run this postseason, they have to tighten up their play and close out their games.
They have no shortage of offensive firepower. Brunson has been sensational in the series, averaging a whopping 34.4 points per game, including 47- and 40-point outbursts in Games 4 and 5, respectively. Hart has been a solid second option, averaging 17 points per game in the series himself.
As Smith said, whether the Knicks move on will come down to the fundamentals. If they can hit their free throws in the clutch, play solid defense and avoid unnecessary fouls, they’ll move on to the second round and put this collapse behind them.
You can check out Game 6 at 9 p.m. EST Thursday on TNT.
