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  • Instant observations: Tyrese Maxey’s unbelievable late-game heroics save Sixers season in Game 5

    Instant observations: Tyrese Maxey’s unbelievable late-game heroics save Sixers season in Game 5

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    NEW YORK, NY — In an all-time clash, the Sixers somehow emerged victorious in Game 5 Tuesday night, 112-106, because of all-time shot-making from Tyrese Maxey. Their season remains alive with the series returning to Philadelphia. 

    Here is what stood out from a thrilling Sixers-Knicks Game 5:

    Sixers open fourth quarter with a bang

    Let’s start in the guts of the game. With a dozen minutes of play left to decide their season, the Sixers came out strong: they opened the fourth quarter with Maxey sinking a long two-point jumper, then got a stop and extended their newfound lead to four thanks to a corner triple by Nico Batum. 

    Within 41 seconds, the score had swung by five crucial points, and a furious Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau called timeout once again. 

    Fatigue plagues Embiid down the stretch as turnovers pile up, and Nurse makes a tough call

    Joel Embiid was sloppy for a lot of this game, but it became uncontrollable in the fourth quarter. By the time Embiid had thrown away his eighth turnover of the game nearly halfway through the fourth quarter, Nick Nurse called timeout, and after the break Embiid was not on the floor. Nurse opted to not play Embiid for the entirety of the second half after it did not work out for the Sixers in Game 3. With or without Embiid, the Sixers had a lot of ground to cover. 

    Embiid’s rest only lasted for 72 seconds of play before a Jalen Brunson and-one extended their lead to six points.

    Tyrese Maxey saves the season

    Miles McBride made a free throw line jumper to extend the Knicks’ lead to six with fewer than 30 seconds left. 

    Then Tyrese Maxey did something unforgettable.

    First, Maxey converted an absurd four-point play to trim the lead to two points. Josh Hart split two free throws, and Maxey came down, pulled up from the logo and saved the Sixers’ season with the most brilliant shot of his four-year NBA career. 

    What can you say about this guy anymore? The Sixers’ 23 year-old guard is special, and the five-year maximum contract extension he is set to sign this summer is much-deserved. With Embiid a shell of himself for much of this game (and significant portions of the series), it is the fourth-year player in his first full season as a point guard who rose to the occasion time and time again. He is not a star, not an All-Star, but a superstar in the making.

    Embiid and Maxey deliver in overtime and the Sixers find a way remain alive

    Embiid was flat-out terrible for 48 minutes. Maxey made several crucial mistakes down the stretch. But after Maxey’s herculean effort forced overtime, the Sixers’ duo of 2023-24 All-Stars refused to let the Sixers head home empty-handed. Maxey continued to hit big shot after big shot, and Embiid finally began to come through with timely baskets while simultaneously obliterating the Knicks’ offense as a rim protector.

    After a true instant classic, the Sixers are going to return home and play more basketball. Game 6 is Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

    Sixers defense comes to play early… even if their offense did not

    It took four minutes and 24 seconds of play before the Knicks got on the board in this one. Tobias Harris (of all people!) scored the first five points of the game — first on a corner triple and then a mid-range jumper — before Isaiah Hartenstein knocked down two free throws for the Knicks. Tyrese Maxey followed that up with a 5-0 run of his own, and more than five minutes into the game, Thibodeau called timeout with his team trailing 10-2. The Knicks entered that timeout shooting 0-8 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc.

    The Sixers missed some great looks early on, squandering an opportunity to jump out to a massive early lead, but Harris and Maxey did just enough to get the Sixers out in front in the opening minutes.

    Sixers win first quarter 26-17 despite unusual Embiid performance

    Embiid made only one of his five field goal attempts in the first quarter of this one, inciting quite a bit of pleasure from the New York City crowd. But the other parts of his game were on-point early on: his rim protection was characteristically outstanding, his grabbed six rebounds and also dished out three assists. 

    It is fair to wonder if the Sixers could have really blown things open early had Embiid been effective as a scorer, but regardless of his shooting struggles, the reigning NBA MVP did find a way to impact the game in a positive manner early.

    Knicks make significant second-quarter push amid continued Embiid struggles

    In the three minutes and 57 seconds in which Embiid rested — between the final minute or so of the first quarter and the opening pair of minutes in the second quarter — the Sixers’ five-point lead was predictably extinguished. But when Embiid returned to the floor, his struggles as a scorer only escalated, and suddenly New York took control of the game.

    Robinson once again performed excellently as Embiid’s primary defender, and New York’s once-dormant offense got going. Miles McBride scored five straight points, Brunson began to knock down jumpers, Robinson threw down a powerful alley-oop dunk and the Knicks were able to build a formidable deficit for the Sixers to overcome.

    Maxey’s scoring saves Sixers’ chances, but team enters halftime trailing 49-43

    The Sixers were brutalized by the Knicks in the second quarter, as New York outscored them 32-17 in those 12 minutes. The Sixers’ only saving grace was Maxey, who’s at least able to halt the Knicks’ momentum a few times, including with an impressive buzzer-beating layup that trimmed the deficit to six before the teams headed to their locker rooms.

    Of course, the onus is always on an entire team to rise to the occasion in a big game, but everybody knows that things start and end with a team’s best player. Embiid’s offensive showing in the first half — a 3-10 shooting line from the field with three turnovers — was just not good enough. 

    Sixers respond with a run to open third quarter

    The Sixers were likely doomed if they did not throw a haymaker at the Knicks to open the second half, and perhaps that is exactly what Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told his team in the locker room. The Sixers took a punch from the Knicks and were able to connect back.

    The Sixers’ opening act in the third quarter was strong enough that Thibodeau called a timeout on two different occasions before even four minutes of time has passed. They outscored New York 10-2 in the first three minutes and 51 seconds of the quarter, allowing them to first tie the game and then take the lead. Once again, the key cog in their turnaround was Maxey, who punctuated the run with a gorgeous finish at the rim.

    Sixers enter fourth quarter trailing by one

    The Sixers won the third quarter, 26-21, but left some points on the table with missed open threes. All in all, Nurse and co. will take what they got over the course of those 12 minutes, though: repeated good looks on the offensive end, fueled by mostly-crisp passing, and cohesive defense. 

    A (relatively) clean bill of health for the Sixers

    Aside from Robert Covington, who remains out with a bone bruise in his left knee, the Sixers had two players listed on their injury report, and they were both starters. 

    Joel Embiid has been listed as questionable before just about every game the Sixers have played since he returned from his two-plus month absence due to a meniscus injury in his left knee, and that did not change, but his designation did: rather than just being listed as dealing with “left knee injury recovery,” Embiid was also listed as having a migraine — which Embiid said last week was the first symptom he experienced before being diagnosed with a case of Bell’s palsy. Embiid missed the team’s shootaround Tuesday morning, but was never expected to miss a do-or-die game.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. also missed Tuesday morning’s shootaround after the team told reporters that the swingman “did not feel well,” and Oubre was later listed as probable with an illness. However, he, too was ultimately made available and put in the starting lineup.

    The injury gods giveth and the injury gods taketh away for New York

    The Knicks, who have battled injuries all season long, relied on seven players to notch a Game 4 victory: Robinson, who excelled for the first two and a half games of the series before missing the second half of Game 3 with an ankle injury, was ruled out a half-hour prior to tip-off on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, Bogdanovic — who knocked down three triples in each of the first two games of the series and helps New York space the floor in a major way — went down with an ankle injury 71 seconds after checking into the game. Bogdanovic, who was already dealing with a severe wrist injury, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to his pair of injuries that will likely both require surgery.

    Robinson returned for the Knicks in Game 5 despite still dealing with the aforementioned ankle ailment — the same injury that held him out for more than three months in the regular season. With Bogdanovic out, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau decided not to call upon the services of Precious Achiuwa — his backup center to open Game 4 who ultimately helped swing the game in New York’s favor with his infectious energy and tremendous athleticism at the power forward position — in a role resembling the one he thrived in during the prior contest. Instead, the Knicks used a seven-man rotation. That is considered a rarity this early in the playoffs, generally speaking, but clearly nothing can be put past Thibodeau.

    Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Late-game collapse sinks Sixers, who trail Knicks 2-0 in first round series

    Instant observations: Late-game collapse sinks Sixers, who trail Knicks 2-0 in first round series

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    NEW YORK — About 46 hours after their valiant effort resulted in a heart-breaking Game 1 loss at the hands of the New York Knicks, the Sixers returned to Madison Square Garden for a rematch: on Monday night was Game 2, as the Sixers looked to even the series at 1-1 before it headed to Philadelphia.

    But in those 46 hours or so, a lot has happened and been discussed. The most noteworthy point of discourse has been the state of reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid’s left knee. Embiid suffered an extreme injury scare to the already-damaged knee on Saturday evening, when for a few moments it looked like his season was going to be over due to an injury to the same knee which kept him out for more than two months before his return April 1. Embiid ended up only missing a few moments of game time due to the injury, but was far from the best version of himself after returning.

    Then came another cause for concern: on Monday morning, the Sixers suddenly listed their other All-Star, point guard Tyrese Maxey, as questionable for Game 2 with an illness. Maxey went on to miss the team’s shootaround.

    Between the uncertain statuses of the two best players on the team and the reeling nature of some of the duo’s critical supporting pieces, the feeling around the team was understandably anxious.

    Embiid was not his best self — again — while Maxey dazzled. But brutal late-game errors sent the Sixers packing with a 2-0 series deficit staring them in the faces.

    Here is what jumped out from Game 2 of Sixers-Knicks:

    Embiid and Maxey play

    Per the usual, De’Anthony Melton and Robert Covington were ruled out prior to tip-off: Melton’s status for the remainder of the series and playoffs remains unknown, while Covington appears to be out for the remainder of the season.

    The only other Sixers listed on the injury report were the aforementioned stars, Embiid and Maxey, but each was made available after going through their pregame routines.

    Maxey’s opening heater

    In Game 1, Embiid set the tone with an early 9-0 run after the Knicks had taken a 2-0 lead. In Game 2, Maxey similarly put his foot on the gas early, but he didn’t wait for the Knicks to score first. Maxey opened the scoring in this one by knocking down a three… and then another three… and then another three.

    Maxey put together a personal 9-0 run of his own that was — fittingly — very fast. It gave the Sixers a whole lot of juice early, not to mention a healthy lead in the game’s opening minutes.

    Of course, any run within a playoff game is enormous, let alone one that opens the game. It certainly does not hurt to get one from the guy who was supposed to be a game-time decision.

    Embiid’s up-and-down, but mostly positive, first quarter

    Once again, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse played Embiid for the entirety of the first quarter — as he did for most of the regular season prior to Embiid suffering his meniscus injury. Embiid did not shoot the ball particularly well in the opening dozen minutes, but was extremely active: he made four of his 10 field goal attempts — including two of his three tries from beyond the arc — and split four free throws. But Embiid also grabbed eight rebounds — four of them coming on the offensive glass, in a fortunate change of pace — and collected a pair of assists. He committed a turnover in the first minute or two of the game, but after that played a clean quarter of mistake-free basketball.

    Embiid’s rim protection, as expected, was also tremendous.

    Early returns on rebounding adjustments

    The biggest reason the Sixers lost Game 1 was because they were brutalized on the rebounds, particularly as they allowed an almost-comical 23 Knicks offensive rebounds. Nurse and several Sixers rotation players entered Game 2 having spoken at length about the need to shore up their team rebounding efforts.

    The Knicks grabbed an offensive rebound on their first possession of the game, and it momentarily felt as if the Sixers were going to be eviscerated on the boards. But it took more than 10 minutes for them to allow another offensive rebound, a play that gave the Knicks their only two second-chance points of the entire quarter.

    Rebounding is a team effort under all circumstances, so all Sixers rotation players deserve joint credit for their improved performance in that department, but it is hard to ignore the way Embiid set the tone on the glass with constant energy and effort that was not there in Game 1.

    Sixers survive early stretch without Embiid

    Despite Paul Reed giving the Sixers strong minutes for most of Game 1, they were pummeled when he manned the middle in Embiid’s place, getting outscored by 21 points in just 11 minutes.

    In Game 1, Embiid helped the Sixers build a nine-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and after five minutes of Embiid sitting on the bench, the game was tied.

    In this one, Embiid helped create a seven-point Sixers lead by the time for the first quarter ended. He rested for the same amount of time as he did on Saturday, but this time when he returned the Sixers still led by seven: they broke even without their best player, which in the playoffs is an enormous feat. For all of Embiid’s struggles in Game 1, they would have won if they were even outplayed by a modest amount when he sat rather than being obliterated.

    Part of succeeding when Embiid rests is successfully running the offense through Maxey, and the Sixers were able to that. Maxey led all scorers in the first half with 20 points, shooting 7-11 from the field, 4-7 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the free throw line. Maxey also dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds in before intermission.

    The Tobias Harris revival

    Harris struggled from the field to open the game, making just two of his first six shot attempts, including missing the mark on two wide open triples. But his energy to open the game was outstanding: he was active on the glass, both in terms of grabbing rebounds on his own and by simply preventing the Knicks from doing so with effective box-outs. He also ran down an offensive rebound that led to an easy layup for Buddy Hield (and nobody needed to see the ball go in more than Hield) and won a jump ball against a seven-footer, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein.

    Two made threes later, Harris entered halftime with a stellar line: in a team-leading 21 minutes, he scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (including 2-4 from beyond the arc), six rebounds, two assists, a steal, a block and zero turnovers.

    The outpouring of frustration with Harris in recent days — which has been even more furious than usual — was mostly warranted considering his performance. But given the way he was playing and the way he was being lambasted, regardless of whether or not the criticism was deserved, it is impressive that he was able to collect himself and reward Nurse’s trust in him with such a strong first half.

    In the fourth quarter, the Knicks repeatedly targeted Harris as a defender, forcing him into switches against their leading offensive option, Jalen Brunson, and Harris just got stops against the scoring aficionado over and over. In Harris’ five-plus years as a Sixer, he has never put together such a marvelous defensive showing,.

    Josh Hart at it again

    I wrote before this series kicked off that Hart, who was the Knicks’ star in Game 1, had the potential to reach levels of annoyance that the Sixers and their fans have not experienced stemming from the performance a role player in the playoffs in several years. But even this is a bit beyond what I expected.

    Hart’s 22 points, 13 rebounds and four threes made him the player folks will remember from Saturday night. And on Monday, he picked up right where he left off: Hart had 19 points, 10 rebounds and another four threes… in the first half.

    Nurse spoke in his media availability before Game 2 about the team’s commitment to limiting Brunson, and how that necessitates leaving a subpar three-point shooter like Hart open. Hart is not a good enough shooter to commit a defender to him at all times, but clearly he is good enough that he can make a defense pay for leaving him open at any given moment. So far in this series, the Villanova product has done exactly that.

    Maxey’s Most Improved Player case, exemplified

    Maxey was named a nominee for the NBA’s 2023-24 Most Improved Player Award on Sunday night, and many expect the fourth-year guard to take home what would be the first full-season individual honor of his NBA career. One crucial stretch early in the third perfectly illustrated two of the underrated ways in which he has progressed as a player in the last year.

    Maxey’s case to win the award stems from his significant scoring uptick, but he has also made massive strides as a playmaker and passer in his first full regular season as a point guard. Maxey’s passing was excellent in this game, and perhaps none of his dishes were better than an impressive skip pass he threw that created a made three for Kyle Lowry, who had been silent as a scorer up until that point.

    On the other end of the floor, the Knicks set up Maxey to defend their own first-time All-Star guard in Brunson. Brunson is not an easy cover for anyone, but particularly someone like Maxey because Brunson boasts such a massive strength advantage over Maxey. But Maxey stood his ground against the NBA’s fourth-leading per-game scorer in the regular season and forced a stop. Forget last year, Maxey may not have been able to make that play last month. His defensive improvement over the last handful of games alone has been staggering.

    Knicks finally take control during Embiid’s second half rest

    Embiid did not play the entire third quarter, as Nurse appeared to deviate from his typical substitution patterns. Instead, he rested for four of the final five minutes of the quarter. In that time, the Knicks outscored the Sixers by six as they finally captured their first lead of the game and created a modicum of separation.

    That run that continued into the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when the Knicks’ lead expanded to as wide as eight.

    Intense fourth quarter ends with Sixers falling short again after late mistakes

    The Sixers led by five with fewer than 30 seconds on the clock in Game 2. Then a Brunson desperation three took a wild bounce in, the Sixers turned the ball over in the backcourt — not using a timeout that they had remaining — and Donte DiVincenzo hit his fourth three of the game to give the Knicks the lead. One Maxey miss, two OG Anunoby free throws and an Embiid missed desperation three later, the Knicks had won.

    An all-time, epic disaster for the Sixers, who had Game 2 and a tied series in hand. They head home with a tall task at hand: win four of the next five, or go home.

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    Adam Aaronson

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