NEW YORK (AP) — An eight-point lead is gone. The Knicks' dominance and home court advantage in the series looked like it would continue. Madison Square Garden was nearly silent.
“So it wasn't a good feeling,” Donte DiVincenzo said.
After a while, there was an uproar.
After a frantic scramble, DiVincenzo made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and New York defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoff series. I stole it.
The Knicks trailed by five points with 30 seconds left, but it was one of the most spectacular rallies in playoff history. It started when Jalen Brunson finally took a shot during a disastrous shooting night.
Brunson's 3-point shot from the corner bounced off the rim and fell, cutting the lead to 101-99 with 27 seconds left. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey and the Knicks got the ball back, but DiVincenzo missed his 3-point shot. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who passed it back to DiVincenzo, who hit it to make it 102-101.
“It was crazy, it was hectic, but I had nothing to lose at that point,” Hart said. “I had to be as physical as possible and it worked out well.”
Hartenstein then blocked Maxey's drive, Anunoby made two free throws and Joel Embiid missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the Knicks held on.
Brunson finished with 24 points despite making 8 of 29 field goals. Hart had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and DiVincenzo had 19 points.
According to Sportradar, this is the fourth time in the play-by-play era since the 1996-97 season that a team has won a playoff game after trailing by at least five points in the final 30 seconds. Other highlights include Miami's series-saving rally against San Antonio in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and Golden State's overtime rally against New Orleans in Game 3 of 2015 en route to their first three titles in four years. victory, and Kobe Bryant's game-winner. They defeated Phoenix in Game 4 of the 2006 first round series.
Maxey had an outstanding performance with 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds after missing the morning's shootaround due to illness earlier in the day. Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds.
Game 3 will be played Thursday in Philadelphia.
“We're going to win this series,” Embiid said. “We know what we have to fix and we did a better job today, so we're going to fix it. But we're the better team and we're going to keep fighting.”
After Maxey scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, the 76ers looked like they were on the verge of going home satisfied. His 3-pointer with 1:09 left gave the 76ers a 100-96 lead, and when Kyle Lowry made his free throw with 47 seconds left, the crowd went silent for what seemed like all night. Ta.
“It's not a good feeling to lose the lead,” DiVincenzo said. “You'll probably feel a little more sore the next day.”
Minutes later, fans were chanting his name in a frenzy after DiVincenzo gave the Knicks a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time since the first round against Boston in 2013.
“It was huge and it was loud as hell in there,” DiVincenzo added.
And the blame falls on the 76ers.
“We have to put it behind us now,” Maxey said. “Think about it and plan to eat two at home in the next 48 hours.”
Hartenstein had 14 points and Anunoby had 10, but that was mostly due to Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo. All three are former Villanova Wildcats and will return to Philadelphia for the next two games.
Hart scored 19 points in the first half, keeping the Knicks close in a game in which they didn't lead for the first time with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Brunson went just 8-for-26 in Game 1, but had eight rebounds and six assists on Monday.
Embiid played 39 minutes, barely worrying about his surgically repaired left knee, which he appeared to have reinjured in Game 1. But he and Maxey had little help, with Tobias Harris the only player to score in double figures for Philadelphia with 10 points.
Maxey, a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award, started the game with three consecutive 3-pointers to give the 76ers a 9-0 lead. In the second quarter, Embiid was given a technical foul and they were trailing by 10 points. After he was called for a foul trying to block DiVincenzo's drive to the basket, he used the ball to push DiVincenzo back.
This excited the fans, who booed Embiid disrespectfully, but the Knicks were unable to make much of an impact on the score until Hart scored seven straight points with a 3-pointer in transition. His 3-point shot made it 51-48. It was 53-49 at the break.
Reserves Bojan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride, who played big in Game 1, combined for New York's 11th consecutive point, giving New York a 90-82 lead with 7:43 remaining. However, Philadelphia fought back with a basket by Maxey, tying the game at 94 points.
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