The Knicks Went On An 8-0 Run In The Final 27 Seconds To Stun The Sixers And Win Game 2

The New York Knicks are heading to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead. During Monday night’s Game 2 of their first round series, the Knicks played host to the 76ers at Madison Square Garden and looked like they were going to lose their homecourt advantage in the series, as the Sixers — powered by a pair of huge performances from Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid — held a 5-point lead as the game entered the final 30 seconds.

And then, an insane sequence occurred during the game’s waning moments to give New York a 104-101 win. After a scramble on the ground, Jalen Brunson knocked down a three to cut the lead to two. And then, the Knicks’ defense forced an awkward inbounds pass to Maxey, who got trapped, hit the deck after some contact from Josh Hart went uncalled, and turned the ball over. A miss by Donte DiVincenzo got cleaned up by Isaiah Hartenstein, and eventually, the ball made its way back to DiVincenzo, who hit the three to put the Knicks ahead.

The moment was so big that it earned a rare double bang from legendary play-by-play man Mike Breen.

There was still plenty of time left for Philly, which got Maxey going towards the rim with a head of steam. But Hartenstein came up huge once again, as he rejected the layup, it fell into the arms of OG Anunoby, and he hit both free throws to put the Knicks up three.

While the Sixers got one more chance, a Joel Embiid heave hit the back of the rim, and Philly’s hopes of stealing one in New York were dashed.

Everyone in New York’s starting five hit double-digit scoring, and while he did not have his most efficient game of the year, Brunson led the way with 24 points on 8-for-29 shooting with eight rebounds and six assists. Hart, who can probably run for mayor and win after how he’s played in the first two games of the series, had a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

While balance was the name of the game for New York, Philly relied on its two All-Stars to get them to the finish line, and they very nearly did. Maxey led all scorers with 35 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds in 44 minutes of work. And while Embiid seemed to really struggle with the knee injury he aggravated in Game 1 of the series, he still put up big numbers, as the 2022-23 NBA MVP had 34 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists on the evening.

Now, the series will head to Philadelphia, where the Sixers will hope to get back and track and defend their home court. Game 3 between the Sixers and the Knicks from the Wells Fargo Center will take place on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.