The goal of teams who start an NBA Playoff series on the road is to steal Game 1 or 2 away and get homecourt advantage back. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it looked like that would be achieved in Game 2 on Monday night.
After a heartbreaking loss on Saturday evening, the 76ers came out focused and ready to play in Game 2. They had control of things for more than half of the game, as the New York Knicks didn’t get their first lead until the third quarter.
In the final stanza, the script was flipped from Game 1. New York dominated the fourth quarter to steal Game 1, but Philadelphia was doing the domination in Game 2. So much so, that their announcing team on television was celebrating the victory with 47.3 seconds remaining in the game.
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What ensued after was one of the wildest sequences in NBA Playoff history. Jalen Brunson, who is in the midst of the worst shooting stretch of his career, knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game with a friendly bounce off the rim.
All hell broke loose on the inbound, as bodies were flying everywhere. Eventually, the Knicks came away with the ball and Donte DiVincenzo got a clean look from 3-point range. He missed, but Isaiah Hartenstein beat four 76ers players to the rebound and got the ball to OG Anunoby.
Anunoby swung the ball back to DiVincenzo at the top of the key and this time he made the most of it, swishing it home. The Knicks took a 102-101 lead but needed one more stop. They got it when Hartenstein blocked Tyrese Maxey’s layup, as Anunoby got the rebound, was fouled and knocked down two free throws to ice the game.
The 76ers were 47.3 seconds away from tying the series at 1-1, but are now heading back to Philadelphia down 2-0, trying to figure out how to stop unraveling at the end of games. In the locker room, a visibly upset Joel Embiid made a bold claim, guaranteeing his 76ers would not lose this series.
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An argument certainly can be made that the 76ers should be up 2-0 in this series. They have been the more consistent team, but have not been able to execute when it matters most, leading to two crushing defeats.
Philadelphia will have to put everything on the line in Game 3. That is a must-win game, as going down 3-0 to this Knicks team would essentially mean the end of the 2024 NBA Postseason for the 76ers.
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