In a nail-biting finish, the New York Knicks found themselves trailing the Philadelphia 76ers by a mere 5 points with just 47.3 seconds left on the clock.
Tyrese Maxey was a force to be reckoned with, dominating the Knicks throughout the game. His performance was nothing short of spectacular, finishing just one rebound away from a triple-double.
As for the Knicks point guard, Jalen Brunson, don’t let the raw numbers fool you.
The box score shows Brunson with 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but the numbers could have been more efficient. Brunson shot 8-for-29 from the field. That puts his PSA (Points Per Shot Attempt) at a dismal 16.
Brunson’s overall performance will be largely forgotten because his three-pointer, courtesy of a kind bounce, got the Knicks to within 101-99.
That’s when the massive scramble on the inbounds led to two Donte DiVincenzo three-point attempts, with the second one falling to give the Knicks the lead—a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The 104-101 win gave the Knicks a 2-0 lead against the Sixers as the series shifts to Philadelphia.
“It starts with Thibs (Tom Thibodeau),” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “He always believes no game is ever safe. He kind of instilled it in us, so it starts with him. And the whole team just buys in.”
Thibodeau has willed the Knicks through injuries to get the number two seed in the East.
Julius Randle is out for the season. Prize pick up, OG Anunoby was hurt down the stretch. Brunson also missed games.
The Knicks head coach was putting players like DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and Mike McBride in position to impact wins.
All of the adversity has come into play in the series’ first two games.
In game one, McBride stunned the Sixers with a 21-point performance. Hart backed up McBride with 22 points of his own.
In game two, the Sixers dared Hart and the “others” to beat them again. Hart and DiVincenzo obliged with 21 and 19 points, respectively.
Thibodeau has been criticized in the past for playing players too many minutes. His defense-first style can be hard on the eyes of modern NBA fans, but it has been the foundation of a successful coaching career.
With the Randle injury and the Sixers dedicated to stopping Brunson at all costs, the Knicks have looked like the NBA team that believes “sharing is caring.”
Thibodeau has the perfect players for his coaching style, and the players have the ideal coach.
New York is far from winning the series, but the first two games have been about the Knicks’ resiliency.
Another Thibodeau trait.
