NEW YORK (AP) The eight-point lead was gone. The Knicks’ series lead and home-court advantage seemed poised to follow. Madison Square Garden had gone almost silent.
“I mean, it wasn’t a good feeling,” Donte DiVincenzo said.
Moments later, there was chaos.
DiVincenzo made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining after a desperate scramble, and New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
The Knicks trailed by five points in the final 30 seconds before one of the most stunning rallies in playoff history, starting when Jalen Brunson finally got a shot off during an otherwise shooting night miserable.
Brunson’s 3-point basket from the corner bounced off the rim and fell in, cutting it to 101-99 with 27 seconds left. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to get the ball back for the Knicks, but DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who passed it back to DiVincenzo, who knocked this one in to make it 102-101.
“It was crazy, it was hectic, but at that point we had nothing to lose,” Hart said. “You have to be as physical as possible and it went well.”
Hartenstein then blocked Maxey’s drive, Anunoby made two free throws and the Knicks held on when Joel Embiid missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Brunson finished with 24 points despite shooting 8-of-29 from the field. Hart had 21 points and 15 rebounds and DiVincenzo scored 19 points.
It was only the fourth time in the play-by-play era, dating back to the 1996-97 season, that a team won a playoff game after trailing by at least five points in the final 30 seconds, according to Sportradar. Others include Miami’s rally against San Antonio in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Golden State’s overtime victory against New Orleans in Game 3 in 2015 en route to its first of three titles in four years, and Kobe Bryant’s game-winner. to beat Phoenix in the fourth game of a first-round series in 2006.
Maxey had 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a stellar performance after being sick earlier in the day and missing their morning shot. Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds.
The third game will take place Thursday in Philadelphia.
“We’re going to win this series,” Embiid said. “We know what we need to fix and we did a better job today, so we’re going to fix it.” But we are the better team and we will continue to fight.
The 76ers seemed poised to go home happy after Maxey scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer with 1:09 left gave the 76ers a 100-96 lead and when Kyle Lowry made a free throw with 47 seconds left, the crowd was as quiet as it had been all the night.
“It’s not a good feeling to lose that lead,” DiVincenzo said. “The next day it’s going to sting a little more.”
Minutes later, fans were deliriously chanting DiVincenzo’s name after he gave the Knicks their first 2-0 lead in a playoff series since the first round against Boston in 2013.
“It was huge, it was very loud in there,” DiVincenzo added.
And the sting goes to the 76ers.
“I have to put this behind us now,” Maxey said. “You have 48 hours to think about it and come up with a plan to have two at home.”
Hartenstein scored 14 points and Anunoby 10, but it was mostly the efforts of Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo – the three former Villanova Wildcats who will now return to Philadelphia for the next two games.
Hart scored 19 points in the first half to keep the Knicks close in a game they didn’t lead for the first time until four minutes remained in the third quarter.
Brunson was just 8 of 26 in the opener, but he had eight rebounds and six assists on Monday.
Embiid played 39 minutes, rarely appearing bothered by his surgically repaired left knee, he appeared to re-injure in the first game. But he and Maxey had little help, with Tobias Harris being the only other Philadelphia player in double figures with 10 points.
Maxey, a finalist for the Most Improved Player award, hit three straight 3-pointers to start the game and give the 76ers a 9-0 lead. They led by 10 in the second quarter when Embiid was whistled for a technical foul. After being warned for a foul while trying to block DiVincenzo on a drive to the basket, he used the ball to push DiVincenzo away.
This had fans booing Embiid profanely, but the Knicks couldn’t make much of a dent in the score until Hart scored seven straight points, with his 3-pointer in transition cutting it to 51-48 . It was 53-49 at the break.
Reserves Bojan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride, who had big performances in Game 1, combined for 11 straight New York points for a 90-82 lead with 7:43 left. But Philadelphia fought back to tie the game at 94 on a Maxey basket.
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