Sixers Upset Knicks in Game Five At MSG
With the New York Knicks up 3-1 in the series, fans were looking forward to the team closing out their first series closing home win since the 1994 playoffs. However, the Philadelphia 76ers had other plans as they fought back against the Knicks through the whole 48 minutes, and then some as this game went into overtime when Tyrese Maxey pulled up for a three with nine seconds left to go in regulation. This series now heads back to Philadelphia with the Sixers eying to make this a tied series at three games apiece. New York must find a way to close this series out in Philly before all the pressure heads their way back to Madison Square Garden.
The Sixers started off great taking a 26-17 lead after one quarter of play. New York came back to show why they wanted to earn this win so badly, as they outscored Philadelphia 32-17 to take a six-point lead heading into halftime. The Knicks wanted to keep their solid play going, but the Sixers came out in the second half knowing they weren’t going to go down easy during this first-round brawl. Philly outscored New York 26-21 to trail by one heading into the third quarter. These two teams continued to go back and forth with one another, but the Knicks held a six-point lead with 29 seconds to go after Miles McBride hit a 14-foot jump shot. Mitchell Robinson fouled Tyrese Maxey who drained a three-pointer, setting Maxey up for a four-point play which he converted. Josh Hart would get fouled and only made one of his two free throw attempts for the Knicks. This would ultimately hurt New York, as Maxey came down at the other end and tied the game up with another three-pointer. This game would head to overtime with both teams tied at 97.
New York went three for 10 from the field with nine points compared to the Sixers who scored 15 points on four of eight shooting. Philadelphia went to the free throw line seven times during the overtime period, hitting six attempts. Ultimately, the Knicks could not close out the 76ers like they would have liked in Game Five, forcing a Game Six back in Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey went 17 for 30 from the field with 46 points in addition to recording five rebounds, and nine assists. Joel Embiid finished with a triple-double as he had 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, a steal, four blocks, and nine turnovers. Tobias Harris scored 19 points in the win. Jalen Brunson finished with 40 points on 15 of 32 shooting. Brunson also had three rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Josh Hart had 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a block in the loss.
