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
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.
Finch, when asked about the incident during his postgame press conference, called Murray's actions "inexcusable" and "dangerous."
"Well, I didn't actually see it happen but it was explained to me [that] the referees didn't see it either, so they're not able to issue a technical unless they see it," Finch said. "We tried to impress upon them that there probably aren't many fans in the building that have a heat pack, so it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical."
"It's inexcusable and dangerous and I'm sure it was just a mistake and an oversight. I'm sure there was nothing intentional by the officiating at all. But certainly can't allow that to happen."
Murray, who has been battling a calf injury since the first round of the playoffs, tossed a heat pack onto the court in frustration during the second quarter. The pack landed in the middle of a Timberwolves-Nuggets scrum at the basket, and was scooped up by Denver forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who tossed it off the floor.
No action was taken by officials, though crew chief Marc Davis, in a pool report, said Murray's actions would have resulted in a technical foul had they been spotted.
“We weren’t aware it had come from the bench," Davis said. "If we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul."
Murray shot 3-for-18 from the field and scored just eight points in 36 minutes. It's not yet clear if he will face any discipline from the NBA for his actions.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled to tip off on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Mn.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for bulletin board material heading into their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics, all they’d have to do is look at the odds.
Recent NBA betting scandals notwithstanding, it's clear oddsmakers don't think the Cavs stand any chance against Boston. In fact, sportsbooks are giving the Cavs a better chance of getting swept than upsetting the top-ranked Celtics, and it’s really not even close.
The Celtics are -3000 to win the series at FanDuel Sportsbook and -1200 to win at DraftKings. That means those sportsbooks are giving the Celtics an implied probability to win the series of 96.8% and 92.3% respectively.
Even more telling, the Celtics are +140 at FanDuel and +170 at DraftKings to win the series 4-0. Those are the shortest odds of any correct series score. The Celtics winning 4-1 has the second shortest odds at +170 and +190, respectively.
For context, even after winning Game 1, the Knicks are only -440 at FanDuel to win their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
This is not exactly surprising.
The Celtics have been the betting favorites to win the NBA championship most of the season and remain so today. They are +100 to win the title at FanDuel and +115 at DraftKings.
The Cavs are +10000 and +8000 at those books, respectively, the longest odds of any playoff team.
All of this paints a grim picture for the Cavs, even more so when you consider the Celtics are expected to be without their third-leading scorer from the regular season, Kristaps Porzingis, who is dealing with a calf injury and is not expected to play the entirety of the series.
The Cavs are at full strength but struggled to beat a young Orlando Magic team in the first round of the playoffs. The series went seven games and the Magic had the Cavs on the ropes in the first half of Game 7 before Donovan Mitchell took over and willed Cleveland into the second round.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics easily dispatched the Miami Heat in five games in the first round, though the Heat were without Jimmy Butler.
It’s clear oddsmakers believe in the duo of Tatum and Brown, not only against the Cavs, but against anyone in the league. The Cavs could look at that as an insult and use it as motivation. It won’t matter to oddsmakers though. It seems their belief is near certainty, at least in this round.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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