Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports Tyrese Maxey, refusing to let Philadelphia’s season end just yet, may have hit the biggest shot of the playoffs as Philly stuns the Knickerbockers The Philadelphia 76ers were able to keep their season alive thanks in large part to a huge game from Tyrese Maxey that ended in a 112-106 win over the New York Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks seemed ready to put the game away and move on to the next round, but some missed free throws and an insane shot from Maxey opened the door for Philadelphia to steal one on the road and live to fight another day. Observations - New York is in roughly the same spot Philadelphia was in just a little over a week ago after losing that nail biter in Game 2 where the Knicks came up huge late. They had this game and the series won, a 6 point lead with 29 seconds to go before Tyrese Maxey happened and it all fell apart for them. They have 2 more chances to close this thing out, but it will be a tall task. While the Philadelphia crowd was shockingly very Knicks friendly in Games 3 and 4, but to pick yourself up off the mat after being so close to wrapping things up at home? Game 6, then, will be a very early test in these playoffs of the Knicks’ mental fortitude.
- Joel Embiid has made no friends in New York City during this series. Embiid, who complained about the number of Knicks’ fans who made the trip Philadelphia in the aftermath of Game 4, was showered with boos every single time he touched the ball by the Garden faithful.
- Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 46 points and was flat-out incredible tonight. His 3 that tied the game at 97 and sent it to OT was arguably the biggest shot of the postseason thus far considering a loss tonight would have sent Philadelphia home for the summer. Instead, they’re heading home with their playoff hopes very much alive.
- Embiid, who missed Philly’s shoot around this morning with a migraine, wasn’t the scoring force that he normally is and the Knicks actually did a great job at keeping him off the line (just 6 attempts tonight after 12+ in each of the previous 4 games). He found other ways to impact the game though, gimpy leg, migraine and all, finishing with a triple double and a huge steal off of Brunson as OT reached its conclusion.
- Tobias Harris finally broke through the 10-point barrier tonight, scoring 19 and coming up with what were essentially the game-clinching free throws in overtime.
- Jalen Brunson was stellar for the most part once again. He led the Knicks with 40 points, but definitely looked to be pressing the issue at times. He will need to be on his A+ game if the Knicks are to somehow close this thing out on the road Thursday night.
- Mitchell Robinson returned after a 1-game absence due to an ankle injury he suffered after playing just 12 minutes in Game 3. Robinson previously missed 4 months of the season due to an ankle injury that required surgery.
- It felt like the Knicks gave away too many possessions trying to make home run plays on outlet passes tonight, leading to turnovers at times where maybe it may have been smarter to slow down and run some offense.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ui5_2DzG0t8?rel=0
Game 6 is set for Thursday at 7:30 on TNT.
Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/4/ ... -win-in-ot