The Philadelphia 76ers seemingly threw in the towel way too early in Game 1 against the New York Knicks.
The Knicks outlasted the 76ers 111-104 in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey scored a layup with 30 seconds to play that cut Philly’s deficit to 109-104. But instead of fouling, the 76ers appeared content to just let the Knicks milk the clock.
Knicks wing OG Anunoby took and missed a shot with six seconds left to beat the shot clock buzzer. His teammate Josh Hart grabbed the dagger offensive rebound to seal the victory for the Knicks.
https://twitter.com/d9Hoops/status/1781849010946384148
Even if the 76ers had secured the defensive rebound after the miss, they would have had about five seconds left to make up a 5-point deficit. Philadelphia also had two timeouts and could have kept their chances alive had they played the foul game.
The late-game decision unsurprisingly drew criticism from fans and reporters on social media.
The Sixers electing not to foul down 5 with 15 seconds left, then giving up an o-rebound, is a fitting way to end this one.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) April 21, 2024
Overall really solid game by the Sixers but some really embarrassing stuff down the stretch
Loser stuff not to foul and extend the game
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) April 21, 2024
Sixers do you want to foul down 5 with 30 seconds left?
Sixers: pic.twitter.com/SlVffxchXv
— Tony Roundtree (@Tonywithyy) April 21, 2024
Why didn’t the Sixers foul there? What in the world did I just watch?
— LCapitan 🥷 (@LCapitanBets) April 21, 2024
How did the Sixers not foul?! THANK YOU!!!
— The Entertainah (@TheEntertainah) April 21, 2024
Knicks star Jalen Brunson didn’t have the best Game 1. He tallied 22 points on 8/26 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Brunson’s Knicks teammates picked up the slack — and then some. Josh Hart finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Deuce McBride tacked on 21 points and 5 threes off the bench.
Hart also hit the dagger three in the final minute that put the Knicks up seven with a minute to play.
Mike Breen on the call for ESPN as Josh Hart and the Knicks sink the Sixers at MSG in Game 1. 🏀🔥🎙️ pic.twitter.com/64taGx3nxB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 21, 2024
The Sixers got a game-high 29 points from Joel Embiid. Despite the loss for Philly, Embiid surviving a Game 1 injury scare may have been a some good news on an otherwise bad day.
