The Philadelphia 76ers were eight seconds away from crashing out of the NBA playoffs.
But a miracle shot from Tyrese Maxey saved their season as Philadelphia outlasted the New York Knicks 110-106 in Game 5 at the Garden to keep its championship hopes alive.
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Philadelphia had to squeeze everything it could out of the reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who committed nine turnovers but also had a triple double (19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists) to go with five blocks as he came up big on the defensive end in overtime.
Meanwhile, if it wasn’t obvious enough already, Wednesday’s game was only further proof that Tyrese Maxey is the future at Philadelphia.
The 23-year-old put the Sixers on his back with 46 points, including a logo 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime, to go with nine assists and five rebounds.
Jalen Brunson, meanwhile, backed up his 47-point heroics in Game 4 as he scored 40 points — including the first five of overtime — along with six assists.
Read on for a full wrap of the biggest moments from Game 5!
FULL GAME RECAP:
Tobias Harris had been pretty quiet in the series before Game 5, averaging just 8.8 points.
On Wednesday however, he had Philadelphia’s first five points of the game, opening the scoring with a 3-pointer after some slick ball movement from the Sixers.
The Knicks’ offence, on the other hand, was anything but slick early as they missed their first eight field goal attempts to fall into an early 10-2 hole, prompting coach Tom Thibodeau to call a timeout after five minutes.
The timeout seemed to spark something in the Knicks, who made seven-straight field goals and were able to get it back to 18-17.
In response, Philadelphia went on a 8-0 run to end the quarter, taking a 26-17 lead into the second as Maxey (11 points) and Harris (seven) led the way for the Sixers.
The Knicks finished the period 0-of-5 from 3-point land, with Josh Hart banking what would have been a successful halfcourt heave at the end of the first had it come before the buzzer.
In what has been a concerning trend all series long, Philadelphia struggled in the minutes with Embiid on the bench to open the second, with New York quickly going on a 11-2 run.
Josh Hart’s energy, specifically pushing it forward in transition, was the perfect complement to New York’s intensity on the defensive end and created an open look for OG Anunoby to drain a 3-pointer and tie the game up at 28-all.
That prompted Nick Nurse to call a timeout and bring Embiid back into the game but it did little to stop the swarming Knicks defence from creating stops and fastbreak opportunities.
Suddenly in the groove after their sluggish opening, the Knicks added another seven unanswered points to go ahead 35-28 after outscoring the Sixers 18-2 early in the second.
A corner 3-pointer from Harris eventually stopped the scoring run, although it was short-lived as Hart found Mitchell Robinson for the emphatic slam off an expertly-executed lob pass.
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That put the Knicks ahead 37-31 midway through the quarter and saw the Sixers call another timeout.
Philadelphia was able to keep in touch for the remainder of the quarter, cutting New York’s lead to six with a Maxey layup at the buzzer as the Knicks took a 49-43 buffer into halftime.
At that point it looked like Maxey would be the Sixers’ best bet of pushing the Knicks and keeping the series alive, finishing the half on 15 points while shooting at 50 per cent from the field.
Embiid, on the other hand, was held to eight points and 3-for-10 from the field with nine rebounds.
Brunson backed up his career playoff-high 47 points from Game 4 with an efficient 15 in the first half, going 7-for-10 from the field.
Brunson made a tough fadeaway jumper early in the third quarter in response to a fast start from Philadelphia, who scored the first four points to force the Knicks into a quick timeout.
But as expected, it was Maxey who looked the likeliest to single-handedly drag the Sixers back from the brink of elimination, scoring six straight points as Philadelphia took a 53-51 lead.
Just as the Sixers looked to be gaining the upperhand, the hustle plays and tenacity that have defined the Knicks under Thibodeau saw them regain the lead as Isaiah Hartenstein fought for a rebound that led to a Brunson 3-pointer.
Donte DiVincenzo then made a triple of his own to put New York ahead 65-61, prompting a Philadelphia timeout with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
The game went to the final quarter very much in the balance, with the Knicks leading 70-69 before the Sixers made a quick 5-0 run to open the fourth.
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As was the case at the start of the third quarter, Thibodeau swiftly called a timeout, not wanting to let the 76ers build any real sort of momentum.
The Sixers were briefly able to maintain the lead when play got back underway but it didn’t take long for the Knicks to turn the game with their defence once again, forcing turnovers that they then turned into easy buckets on the other end.
New York went on a 10-0 run to take a 82-77 lead before Harris sunk a contested shot to halt the Knicks charge, although Brunson answered right back with an and-1 on the other end.
That was seemingly the beginning of the end for the Sixers as the Knicks finished with a flurry.
But seven points from Maxey in the space of 17 seconds, including a clutch 3-pointer on Philadelphia’s final possession of regulation, kept Philadelphia’s post-season alive.
As had been the case all game, just as Maxey put his stamp on the result Brunson did the same, scoring the first five points of overtime to give the Knicks the lead.
Of course, that running duel continued as Maxey answered back with a 3-pointer before Embiid drew a foul, making one of two free throws as the Knicks led 102-101.
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A Maxey defensive rebound then sparked an easy transition bucket for Kelly Oubre Jr. before an Embiid and-1 pushed Philadelphia’s lead out to 106-102 with 1:40 on the clock.
Embiid was then called for a flagrant-1 foul on Brunson, who made one of two free throws before draining a 3-pointer to tie the game.
A defensive breakdown saw Oubre Jr. put Philadelphia back ahead by two but once again, a game that produced so many twists and turns provided another as Embiid turned the ball over.
Brunson though wasn’t on the same page as Hartenstein as he threw the ball out of bounds and the Knicks then fouled Harris, who made both free throws to put Philadelphia ahead 110-106 with 15 seconds left in overtime.
It proved to be enough as the Sixers went on to win a thriller, adding a few extra free throws down the stretch as extra insurance.
‘WILD’ STAT AS BUCKS STAY ALIVE
In other news, the injury-hit Milwaukee Bucks stayed afloat by beating the Indiana Pacers, winning 115-92 to extend their series to game six.
Milwaukee, trailing 3-1 and missing injured stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, looked to be heading for an early postseason exit after Indiana raced into a 31-23 first-quarter lead.
But the Bucks cut loose though in the second and third, outscoring Indiana 64-36 to take control.
Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis led Milwaukee with 29 points apiece while Malike Beasley added 18.
Tyrese Haliburton top scored for Indiana with 16 points but endured a frustrating night against a sterling Milwaukee defensive effort.
Game six takes place in Indiana on Friday.
CAVALIERS WIN THRILLER AGAINST MAGIC
Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell rattled in 28 points — including 14 in the fourth quarter — as the Cleveland Cavaliers ground out a 104-103 win over the Orlando Magic to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference first round playoff series.
Orlando had fought back from 2-0 in the series to level after recording emphatic wins in games three and four in Florida.
But Cleveland dug deep to ensure they will head back to Orlando for game six on Friday with a chance of clinching the series.
“It’s not gonna be pretty but it’s the playoffs,” Mitchell said after Cleveland’s win.
“The fourth quarter — that’s what I do. But I’ve got to play better for my group.
“We’ve played well at home as a group — now we’ve got to go down there in a hostile environment and handle our business.”
Paolo Banchero led Orlando’s scorers with 39 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
— AFP