NEW YORK (AP) Gone an eight-point lead. The Knicks' series lead and home court advantage seemed poised to follow. Madison Square Garden has gone almost silent.
“I mean it didn't feel good,” Donte DiVincenzo said.
Moments later, it was pandemonium.
DiVincenzo hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left 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 matchups in playoff history, which began when Jalen Brunson finally got a shot to go down during a miserable shooting night.
Brunson's 3-pointer from the corner bounced off the rim and fell into the net to cut the score to 101-99 with 27 seconds left. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to give the Knicks the ball back, but DiVincenzo missed a three-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who passed it back to DiVincenzo, who nailed it to make it 102-101.
“It was crazy, it was hectic, but at that point we had nothing to lose,” Hart said. “We have to be as physical as possible and it's over.”
Hartenstein then blocked a Maxey 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 going 8-for-29 from the field. Hart scored 21 points and grabbed 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. Other highlights include Miami's game-saving rally against San Antonio in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Golden State's overtime victory over 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 Game 4 of a 2006 first-round series.
Maxey scored 35 points, had 10 assists and nine rebounds in an impressive performance after being sick earlier in the day and missing the morning shootout. Embiid scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The third game will take place on Thursday in Philadelphia.
“We're going to win this series,” Embiid said. “We know what we have to fix and we did a better job today, so we will fix it. But we are the better team and we will keep fighting.”
The 76ers looked 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 night.
“It's not good to lose that lead,” DiVincenzo said. “The next day it will hurt a little more.”
A few minutes later fans were chanting DiVincenzo's name after giving 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.
“We have to put it behind us now. You have 48 hours to think about it and come up with a plan to get two home,” Maxie said.
Hartenstein scored 14 points and Anunoby 10, but it was mostly thanks to the efforts of Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo — the three former Villanova Wildcats who will now return to Philadelphia for their next two games.
Hart scored 19 in the first half to keep the Knicks close in a game in which they did not lead for the first time until four minutes before the end of the third quarter.
Brunson was just 8 for 26 in the first game but had eight rebounds and six assists on Monday.
Embiid played 39 minutes, rarely seemed bothered by his surgically repaired left knee and appeared to be injured again in Game 1. But he and Maxey had little help, as Tobias Harris was 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 sent the 76ers to a 9-0 lead. They led by 10 points in the second quarter when Embiid was called for a technical foul. After he was called for a foul while trying to block DiVincenzo as he drove to the basket, he used the ball to push DiVincenzo back.
That got the crowd into it, booing Embiid, 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. The score was 53-49 at the break.
Reserves Bojan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride, who had an impressive performance in Game 1, combined for 11 straight New York points to take a 90-82 lead with 7:43 remaining. But Philadelphia fought back to tie it at 94 on a basket from Maxey.
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