NEW YORK — The New York Knicks, up eight in the fourth quarter, coughed up the lead in a matter of minutes. The 76ers, up five with 47 seconds to go, may have coughed up the series in a matter of seconds.
Consecutive 3-pointers — one by Jalen Brunson, then a game-winner by the Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo, coming after Philly’s Tyrese Maxey lost his balance and fell trying to catch an inbounds pass — put New York, improbably, ahead with 13 seconds left, and the Knicks went on to win 104-101 to take a 2-0 lead in this best of seven series.
It was a Reverse Reggie Miller. This time, the road team gave the game away, rather than the host Knicks.
DIVINCENZO AND BRUNSON DRILL BACK-TO-BACK 3’S AND THE KNICKS TAKE THE LEAD! 🔥
13.1 REMAINING IN GAME 2 ON TNT 🍿 pic.twitter.com/x0PwLjhsbw
— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2024
It leaves New York halfway to the second round, despite Brunson struggling again to find much rhythm. And it leaves Philly in a precarious hole, despite Joel Embiid gutting out 39 minutes on his repaired knee to go for 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Maxey playing 44 minutes after missing the morning shootaround with an illness to score 35 points
Expletive 😩😩😩 @sixers
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) April 23, 2024
Game 3 is Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 76ers are, again, getting close to leaving a season’s playoff picture all too early, a feature of the Embiid Era
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
