Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey stole the show Tuesday night, scoring seven points in the final 25 seconds to force overtime and eventually defeat the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Madison Square Garden.
But on Wednesday, the NBA revealed in its Last Two Minute Report that one of Maxey's game-changing plays in the final minute shouldn't have counted. He traveled before launching a three-pointer from 25 feet with 25 seconds remaining.
"Maxey gathers the ball on his left foot, takes two legal steps, and then moves his right foot again just before he is fouled on his shot," the report indicates.
Instead, no traveling violation was called, and Maxey drilled the three-pointer and the free throw to cut the Knicks' lead to two points.
If the travel had been called, the Knicks would've been awarded the ball with a six-point lead and 25 seconds left. The 76ers would be forced to foul, and the game likely ends in a Knicks win if they avoided turnovers and knocked down free throws.
The Last Two Minute Report also indicated that Knicks guard Josh Hart was not out of bounds with 41 seconds left in overtime when he tried to tap a loose ball to teammate Isaiah Hartenstein underneath the basket.
Instead of Hartenstein getting a chance to tie the game at 108, it was ruled a turnover. The 76ers went on to outscore the Knicks 4–0 the rest of the game to secure the victory.
The Knicks, up 3–2 in the series, will get another chance to end Philadelphia's season on Thursday in Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center.
Tyrese Maxey saved the Philadelphia 76ers' season on Tuesday night as he went off for 46 points and made an unbelievable 34-foot bomb in the final seconds of regulation to facilitate five more minutes instead of another early elimination. It was the greatest performance of his life and a coming-out party of sorts, although basketball fans are more than familiar with his potential and ability to carry a team on his back while hot.
The series now shifts back to Philadelphia where the locals will be louder and more enthused as they try to force a do-or-die Game 7 back at Madison Square Garden.
Maxey is now averaging 32.4 points per game in the battle with New York and has been thoroughly efficient, shooting 50.0 percent from the field. And the Sixers needed a second star to emerge more than ever in Game 5 as Joel Embiid struggled mightily. Despite collecting a triple double, the big man looked once again like the weight of the world was on a broken body, turning the ball over an unsustainable 10 times and not exactly rising to the moment.
All of this led Dan Patrick, among others, to conclude that this is Maxey's team now.
"Tyrese Maxey it's his team now because Joel Embiid was a determent to the #Sixers, certainly in 4th quarter, but I have to give him credit for being out there."
Which ... maybe. Maybe it is considering all that Embiid is fighting through. It's kind of amazing that the Sixers can rely on him to even be out there but it's also worth wondering if they can reasonably expect him to carry the heaviest of loads.
Discussions about the future Hall of Fame center's legacy will persist. That discourse will be much louder if Philadelphia is unable to overcome this 3-1 deficit but it won't go away if he's largely a passenger on a bus still running in the playoffs.
The thing is, though, is that this is just fine for the Sixers. Maxey's emergence is literally the best thing that could have happened to them. A franchise that has been processing for so long shouldn't care how they finally get the desired results. A winning team is a winning team if it's Embiid's team or Maxey's team or, hey, even Tobias Harris's team.
What this ultimately means for Embiid's legacy or whatever specious subjective metric people want to use can be sorted out later. Getting two wins from whichever players want to deliver them is far more pressing.
The NBA postseason is when players forge their legacies—and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey just solidified his status as a true star with a legacy-defining Game 5 against the New York Knicks.
Maxey thrived during the regular season after being thrust into a bigger role by the departure of James Harden and Joel Embiid’s injury in late January. He averaged a career-best 25.9 points per game—11th in the NBA—and was rewarded by being named the league’s Most Improved Player last week.
With Embiid clearly hobbled by his troublesome left knee, the Sixers needed Maxey to save the day as they faced elimination in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden—and he absolutely did. Maxey hit two of the most clutch shots you’ll ever see in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
The Knicks appeared to have the game wrapped up after Jalen Brunson passed out of a double team to a wide-open Miles McBride, who knocked down a jumper at the foul line to extend the New York lead to six with 28.9 seconds on the clock. But then Maxey took over, and, thanks in part to a couple of errors by the Knicks, saved his team’s season.
First Maxey used a pump fake to get Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to leave his feet and leaned into Robinson to draw the foul as he threw up an off-balance three-point attempt. He got the shot to fall and then hit the ensuing free throw for a four-point play to cut the deficit to two. Then, after Josh Hart missed one of two free throws to leave the door open for a comeback, Maxey buried the shot of the playoffs thus far: a leaning 35-footer to tie the game at 97.
On the Knicks’ home broadcast on MSG Network, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen repeatedly stressed before Philadelphia’s final possession how New York couldn’t allow a three-point attempt and needed to foul the Sixers. But Embiid’s screen near the halfcourt line gave Maxey plenty of space and his decision to shoot it from so far out meant Robinson wasn’t remotely close enough to give the foul.
Maxey’s heroics defined the fourth quarter, but the story of the overtime period was just the Knicks blowing it. They jumped out to a quick five-point lead before the Sixers responded with a 9–0 run. The Knicks managed to tie the game again at 106 but the Sixers scored the final six points of the game to win it. Any chance of a Knicks victory was essentially wiped out when, after New York forced a sloppy Sixers turnover with Philadelphia leading 108–106 with 28 seconds to play, Jalen Brunson turned it right back over with an ill-advised pass.
Maxey finished with 46 points, a playoff career high and the fourth-highest total of his career. He’s averaging 32.4 points, 7.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game during the series.
The Sixers will need Maxey to step up again as the series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday night. Embiid has had his moments during the series—including a 50-point outburst in Game 3—but his knee was clearly bothering him more in Game 5 than it had previously. He made plenty of great plays, but his mobility was severely lacking. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and a staggering nine turnovers, which tied a career worst.
If Embiid’s knee isn’t any better on Thursday, the pressure will be on Maxey to be the hero again and force a Game 7 back in New York. After willing his team to victory on Tuesday, everyone knows he’s capable of that.
New England begins a new era with first-round pick Drake Maye at quarterback.
The chaos began with 28.9 seconds remaining in regulation down six, 96-90. Maxey hit a three on the wing and was fouled by Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. Maxey made the free throw to cut the Knicks' lead to two.
On the ensuing possession, 76ers wing Nic Batum fouled Knicks guard Josh Hart, who made only one of his two free throws. With the Knicks now up three with 15.1 seconds to go, Maxey came sprinting up the court and took a deep three from the logo at the top of the key to tie the game. After blowing the six-point lead, the Knicks would go on to lose in overtime 112-106.
TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley was shocked that the Knicks didn't foul Maxey and send him to the line after Hart made the free throw to go up by three. The Knicks had no fouls to give, so Maxey would have been at the line shooting two free throws with his team down by three.
"It's interesting, Ernie," Barkley began as he spoke to Ernie Johnson and the rest of the Inside the NBA panel. "I've [said] on the show all these years that I'd foul 100% of the time, 100% of the time. It's just a bonehead play in my opinion. I want the lead and the ball. The two most important things in the basketball game: the lead and the ball, because these guys are so good. It happened in the Milwaukee and Indiana game last week with Khris Middleton. It's a mistake. But like I say, some coaches don't foul, some coaches always foul. I'm gonna always foul a guy in that situation. You can see on coach Thibodeau's face those guys screwed that up."
“I foul 100% of the time [in that situation]. It’s just a bonehead play in my opinion. I want the lead and the ball — the two most important things in a basketball game.”
In case you missed it, Maxey's big shot came with just over eight seconds remaining and it was just what the Philadelphia needed to force OT. After Josh Hart made one of two free throws, Maxey took the ball down the court, pulled up from the logo and hit nothing but net.
76ers radio announcer Tom McGinnis had a perfect call of that whole sequence:
TYRESE MAXEY. THREE-POINTER TO TIE THE GAME IN THE FINAL SECONDS WITH THE SEASON ON THE LINE
Comedian Jon Stewart sat courtside at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to watch Game 5 between his beloved New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers.
He cheered on as the Knicks built a substantial lead in the game's final minute. New York, up by six points, was just 25 seconds away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
And then 76ers star Tyrese Maxey took over. Maxey outscored the Knicks 7–1 by himself in the final 25 seconds, forcing Game 5 to go to overtime, where the 76ers outlasted New York and won 112–106. There will be a Game 6 in Philadelphia.
Right before overtime, TNT cameras followed Maxey to the 76ers' bench after his heroic effort to save his team's season. But as the broadcast lauded Maxey, cameras captured Stewart looking rather stunned as the 76ers guard strolled past him. The comedian quickly became a meme.
Stewart chimed in about the viral moment on social media.
Like all Knicks fans, Stewart will have to wait until Thursday for New York's next chance to close out the first-round series. If they do, it will mark the Knicks' third series win since 2000.
Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers were staring down what felt like the closing seconds of their 2023–24 season.
Trailing the New York Knicks 3–1 in their first-round playoff series and 96–90 in Game 5, 76ers coach Nick Nurse called a timeout with 28.2 seconds left. Maxey took the reins from there.
Coming out of the timeout, Maxey was fouled by Mitchell Robinson as he drilled a three-pointer. He knocked down the free throw to complete the four-point play.
After Josh Hart missed one of two free-throw attempts at the other end, Maxey splashed a three-pointer from 34 feet, launching from the "E" in New York's logo at center court.
Maxey himself outscored the Knicks 7–1 in the final 28 seconds to send it to overtime, where the 76ers edged New York 15–9 to win 112–106 and force Game 6 on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers' season lives on.
Maxey's Herculean effort in crunch time had the entire sports world buzzing, from Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and everyone in between.
