Madison Square Garden — The New York Knicks took to their home court with the opportunity to clinch a playoff series in front of their home crowd for the first time since 1999. Instead, the Philadelphia 76ers, led by relentlessly ascending star Tyrese Maxey, did the unthinkable and won an overtime game they normally wouldn’t have even made it to.
Tyrese Maxey sets the Garden on fire
Except for a 66-second stretch in the first quarter, Tyrese Maxey played every minute, including overtime, in Game 5. Scoring 46, including 14 points in the clutch, that being the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, Maxey was everything Philadelphia needed to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Throughout the night, Maxey looked understandably frustrated at not only the lack of calls in his favor but also the difference between what was deemed illegal contact against himself versus Knicks star Jalen Brunson. However, instead of pouting about it as both teams have ad nauseam throughout the series, Maxey channeled that frustration into one of the greatest postseason performances the Sixers have ever seen.
Scoring the seventh most points by a Sixers player in a playoff game and the most in franchise history by a player under the age of 24, Tyrese’s Maxey’s masterclass in postseason play was an all-timer. His impressive scoring was outdone by his immense composure, something truly impressive for a player with so many years ahead of him.
In closing, thank you Mike Muscala.
Sincerely, the city of Philadelphia.
Maxey’s heater allows Embiid to finish strong
Don’t let the triple-double fool you; this was not a strong game by Joel Embiid. He looked uncomfortable and unwilling from the jump. By the end of the second half, he looked completely exhausted. Nick Nurse’s recent trend of playing Embiid for the entire second half is continually draining his superstar, and a change needs to occur before Game 6.
Paul Reed has proven to be about as bad a backup in this matchup as can be, so with nowhere else to turn, running Nico Batum at the five and running a spread offense is their last remaining option to generate offense without Embiid on the court. Will Nurse change things up? He’s talked about making change at length but has kept that entirely to the perimeter. Until then, Embiid will continue to be gassed at the end, though that is a separate problem from his first-half issues.
In Game 5, it was Tyrese Maxey who gave Embiid the opportunity to rest enough (on the court) that he could once again be a difference-maker on the defensive end, stifling an exhausted Jalen Brunson throughout the extra time.
Embiid cannot rely on Maxey to the degree he did tonight again. He must come out of the gate looking more engaged and keep his defensive motor consistent if the Sixers are to pull off the impossible.
