The Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers have been engaged in a five-game rock fight where grit, determination, and hustle have determined the winner of each game. When it appeared the Knicks were finally getting ready to deliver the knockout blow and close out the series Tuesday night, Tyrese Maxey picked the 76ers off the mat, scoring a flurry of seven points in 30 seconds to keep the series alive.
“Maxey had a huge game on us,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said (h/t MSG Network). “He’s explosive. It doesn’t take much to get him going, and so we gave him too much, and once he got in rhythm he was hard to slow down.”
Maxey had dropped a career-high 46 points by the time the dust settled in overtime, giving Philadelphia a chance to tie the series at home on Thursday. As is the case with every other game in this series, the team that wins the rebounding battle wins. The return of Mitchell Robinson did not help New York on the glass as 76ers center Joel Embiid snatched a game-high 16 rebounds en route to his first career playoff triple-double.
“I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world,” Embiid said, the reigning MVP drawing the ire of the Knicks faithful this series. “It usually gets me going in those situations because you want to put yourself in those situations and kind of shut them up.”
It has taken two historical performances from Embiid and Maxey to even give Philadelphia a chance in this series. Yet, the 76ers find themselves 48 minutes away from forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 where anything can happen. The message in the Knicks locker room postgame though was clear; it’s time to move on.
“That’s on us. We’ve got to execute better. We’ll be better,” OG Anunoby, who was one of three Knicks players to log 50+ minutes, said.
“That’s a game we should’ve won,” Josh Hart added. “Now all we can do is watch film, regroup, and get ready for the game on Thursday.”
Despite Brunson’s 40-point explosion, the Knicks offense came up short in crunch time, only scoring nine points in overtime, which all belonged to Brunson. The rest of the Knicks went 0-of-2 in the extra five minutes. While the overall offensive approach with Brunson as the facilitator has been effective throughout the series against Philadelphia, Brunson’s isolation and late-game heroics seemed to deviate from the Knicks’ offense in regulation. The star guard has also done a great job of taking care of the ball all series, yet had two massive turnovers in the last two minutes of overtime.
“Not good judgment on my part,” Brunson said. “Careless turnover in overtime, and then just making sure we’re all on the same page at the end of regulation, but hats off to them.”
Now, Thibodeau and his squad must put this game in their rearview mirror and turn their attention to a pivotal Game 6. It’s no secret what is on the line as Philadelphia is still fighting for their lives while New York seeks to avoid a major collapse. Needless to say, Game 6 will be absolute, must-watch cinema.
