- Tyrese Maxey produced a game-tying three from the logo to force overtime
- The Sixers’ win sends the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The New York Knicks failed to close out a win in the opening playoff series on Tuesday after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 112-106 in Game 5.
The Knicks had a chance to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second year in a row when they hosted the Sixers in front of a celebrity-filled Madison Square Garden and came within seconds of doing so.
However, Tyrese Maxey entered the fray for Philadelphia with seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation.
The 76ers trailed by six points with 28 seconds left before Maxey pulled off a comeback that brought back memories of Reggie Miller’s eight points in nine seconds for Indiana at Madison Square Garden in 1995.
The All-Star guard converted a four-point play with 25 seconds left to cut it to two, and after Josh Hart’s free throw, he produced a three-out tiebreak in the final seconds of regulation logo to force the game into a dramatic situation. end overtime.
Tyrese Maxey scored seven points for Philadelphia in the final 25 seconds
The Philadelphia 76ers forced a Game 6 against the New York Knicks with an overtime victory
Maxey produced a game-tying three from the logo in the final seconds of regulation
The Knicks had had a three-point lead with less than ten seconds left when Maxey performed his MSG miracle, tying the game at 97 points apiece.
Jalen Brunson scored 40 points for the Knicks, who were contemplating a possible Game 1 of the second round at MSG on Saturday night. Instead, it could be Game 7 of this series, which seemed all but over.
The Sixers cut the Knicks’ lead to 3-2 and sent it back to Philadelphia, where Game 6 will be played.
It was the second desperate attempt to salvage a seemingly certain defeat in a razor-thin series between Atlantic Division rivals. The Knicks won Game 2 after trailing by five points with less than 30 seconds left.
Joel Embiid, who was ill and missed the shootaround with a migraine, didn’t score as usual after coming into the game with an NBA-leading 35 points per game in the playoffs.
The 30-year-old, who was booed mercilessly by the Knicks’ home crowd, had nine turnovers.
But Maxey picked up the scoring momentum, making seven 3-pointers and adding nine assists.
Ben Still sat courtside next to Tracy Morgan and Jon Stewart at MSG on Tuesday night
Carmelo Anthony was swarmed by fans as he entered Madison Square Garden for the match
Sting went to Madison Square Garden for the Knicks-76ers with his wife Trudie Styler
His final three-pointer put the 76ers on the board in overtime after Brunson scored the first five points. That sparked a 9-0 run that Embiid capped with a three-point play with 1:40 left for a 106-102 lead, and after Brunson’s 3 tied it at 106, Kelly Oubre Jr. the tiebreaker with 1:02 to go and Tobias Harris followed with two free throws.
The Sixers’ shocking victory wowed the raucous MSG crowd, including many of the celebrity faces.
Die-hard Knicks fan Ben Stiller was joined by several other celebrities as they enjoyed the on-court action.
Carmelo Anthony, Julianne Moore, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sting, Dave East and Offset, Jon Stewart and Tracy Morgan were all spotted on the court for Game 5.
More to follow.