NEW YORK — Donte DiVincenzo hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left after a chaotic scramble, and the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.
The Knicks were behind by five points in the last 30 seconds, close to losing home-court advantage before an amazing comeback, starting when Jalen Brunson finally made a shot after a tough night.
Brunson’s 3-pointer from the corner bounced on the rim and went in, reducing the lead to 101-99 with 27 seconds left. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to regain possession for the Knicks, but DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who then gave it back to DiVincenzo, who scored to make it 102-101.
Hartenstein then blocked Maxey’s drive, Anunoby made two free throws, and the Knicks secured the win when Joel Embiid missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Despite shooting 8 for 29 from the field, Brunson finished with 24 points. Josh Hart had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and DiVincenzo scored 19 points.
Maxey delivered a brilliant performance with 35 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds after recovering from illness earlier in the day. Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds.
Game 3 will be in Philadelphia on Thursday.
The 76ers seemed poised to return home on a positive note 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 to go, the crowd at Madison Square Garden was as quiet as it had been all night.
A few minutes later, the fans were ecstatically chanting DiVincenzo’s name after he gave the Knicks their first 2-0 lead in a playoff series since the first round against Boston in 2013.
Hartenstein contributed 14 points and Anunoby had 10, but it was largely the efforts of Brunson, Hart, and DiVincenzo – the three former Villanova Wildcats who will now return to Philadelphia for the next two games.
Hart scored 19 in the first half to keep the Knicks in the game, where they didn’t take the lead for the first time until there were four minutes left in the third quarter.
Despite shooting 8 for 26 in Game 1, Brunson had eight rebounds and six assists on Monday.
Embiid played 39 minutes, showing few signs of being bothered by his surgically repaired left knee that seemed to be reinjured in Game 1. But he and Maxey received little support, with Tobias Harris as the only other Philadelphia player in double figures with 10 points.
Maxey, a finalist for the Most Improved Player award, made three consecutive 3-pointers to start the game and give the 76ers a 9-0 lead. They were up by 10 in the second quarter when Embiid received a technical foul. After being called for a foul while trying to block DiVincenzo on a drive to the basket, he used the ball to push DiVincenzo back.
This stirred up the fans, who booed Embiid loudly, but the Knicks couldn’t narrow the score until Hart scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer that cut it to 51-48 during transition. The score was 53-49 at halftime.
Substitutes Bojan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride, who had impressive performances in Game 1, scored 11 consecutive points for New York, giving them a 90-82 advantage with 7:43 left. However, Philadelphia fought back to equalize the score at 94 with a basket by Maxey.
