Knicks Pull Off Game 2 Miracle To Take Commanding Series Lead Over 76ers

 

It was the miracle off Broadway.

In a hectic and thrilling span of 14 seconds, the Knicks turned a five-point deficit into a one-point advantage and rode the moment to a 104-101 crazy victory at MSG.

The big shot came from Donte DiVincenzo, whose trey gave the Knicks the lead. But the sequence requires a full accounting:

Playing poorly all evening, Jalen Brunson finally connected on a 3-pointer — his first of the fourth quarter — to cut the lead to 2 with 27 seconds left.

It required a lucky bounce off the rim.

Off the inbounds, the Knicks stripped Tyrese Maxey, who fell to the court.

Josh Hart, a hero of Game 2, picked up the steal.

It led to a quick miss from DiVincenzo, then an offensive rebound from Hartenstein, then the big DiVincenzo trey.

Donte DiVincenzo #0 reacts after he hits the game winning three point shot over 76ers Nicolas Batum late in the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Maxey missed a potential winner for the Sixers on the ensuing possession, and Anunoby iced the win on the foul line to give the Knicks a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Again, the Knicks got away with a bad game from Brunson.

He followed his Game 1 dud with a Game 2 clunker, shooting 8 for 29 overall — leaving him well below 30 percent for the series.

But his teammates picked up the slack, most notably his former Villanova teammates Hart (21 points) and DiVincenzo (19).

Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball as Nicolas Batum #40 of the Philadelphia 76ers and Tobias Harris #12 defend during the second half in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. 7 Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks shoots the ball as Nicolas Batum #40 of the Philadelphia 76ers and Tobias Harris #12 defend during the second half in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.

“We dominated the glass in the first game, so they’re going to come with a different approach and probably emphasize the transition points and the advantage we have on the boards,” Bojan Bogdanovic said. “So it’s going to be a game, a really great battle. It’s probably going to be a nasty game but it’s what it is.”

“Nasty” would’ve been an overstatement but there were a couple firework moments. With 5:23 left in the second quarter, Embiid was called for a technical for shoving DiVincenzo while holding the ball.

It set off chants of ‘F–k Embiid’ from the MSG crowd, which the Sixers center welcomed with head nods.