NEW YORK — The NBA found that Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey was fouled two times before his turnover that allowed Donte DiVincenzo to score the go-ahead 3-pointer in the New York Knicks' win over the 76ers in Game 2.
The league's Last 2 Minutes report also stated that 76ers coach Nick Nurse tried to call timeouts two times, but the officials did not recognize or grant them during the possession.
The angry 76ers planned to complain about the officiating after falling into a 2-0 hole in the series following the Knicks' 104-101 win on Monday night. However, on Tuesday — speaking on TNT after being named the league's Most Improved Player this season — Maxey offered his perspective.
"It is what it is. We have to move on," Maxey said. "We can't dwell on it now. If we do, we'll be down 0-3 in a couple of days. We don't want that. We know we can still win this series. We're going to go out there and prove that to everybody, not just ourselves. It starts today, letting that go. And then tomorrow at practice, and when the ball goes up on Thursday, be the tougher team — not just physically, but mentally as well."
The 76ers were ahead by five points before Jalen Brunson's 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining. The 76ers tried to inbound the ball to Maxey, who was surrounded by both Brunson and Josh Hart. Maxey fell to the court and Hart grabbed the ball.
However, the NBA stated that Brunson first grabbed Maxey's jersey, preventing the All-Star guard from catching the pass cleanly. The league ruled that Hart then made lower body contact that caused Maxey to fall.
Both plays were labeled as incorrect non-calls.
The league concluded that Hart took the ball away from Maxey with a clean steal.
Nurse tried to call a timeout before the ball was passed in, and then again after Maxey had fallen, which might have been too late.
"The timeout request is simultaneous to Hart making contact with the ball and (Philadelphia) not having possession," the report said.
Sixers center Joel Embiid used strong language after the game, expressing that the officiating was unacceptable for missing the attempted timeout and the foul.
"I mean, we still had chances to win the game," Maxey said Tuesday night. "I got my layup blocked and we missed a 3 at the end to tie. We can't dwell on that. We can't leave the games in other people's hands. We've got to go out there and take it."
MAXEY HONORED
Tyrese Maxey was sixth in the Most Improved Player voting two years ago, a tribute to the jump he made between his first and second seasons in the NBA.
Voters believed the progress he made from his third year to his fourth was even more impressive.
Philadelphia's All-Star guard was named the league's most improved this season on Tuesday night. Maxey's scoring increased for the third consecutive year, and he finished the regular season with averages of 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game — all career bests.
It's not unusual for players to see their numbers rise when given a new role, but that wasn't the case with Maxey. Consider: two years ago, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 35.3 minutes per game. This year, he exceeded all those numbers and averaged only 2.2 more minutes per contest.
Maxey said on the TNT broadcast where the award was announced that he feels really good. He takes pride in working hard and always trying to improve himself every time he's in the gym. He's glad that his hard work is being recognized.
Maxey won against Chicago’s Coby White in the voting. Houston’s Alperen Sengun came in third. White had career highs with an average of 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Sengun also achieved career highs with an average of 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.5 minutes per game.
Maxey received just over half of the first-place votes, which helped him surpass White. Points were given for first, second, and third place. Maxey finished with 319 points compared to White’s 305, but White was listed on 91 ballots while Maxey was on 79.
Sengun ended up with 92 points for third place.
The awards were chosen by a group of 99 reporters and broadcasters who cover the league. They had to submit their votes before the start of the play-in tournament. The NBA awards only consider the regular season.
Lauri Markkanen of Utah won the MIP award last season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Oklahoma City and Jalen Brunson from New York, who were finalists last year, were candidates for MVP this season and also received MIP votes this year.
The rest of the voting went as follows: Jalen Williams from Oklahoma City was fourth, Brunson was fifth, Deni Avdija from Washington sixth, Cam Thomas from Brooklyn seventh, Jalen Suggs from Orlando eighth, Tyrese Haliburton from Indiana ninth, Grayson Allen from Phoenix and Duncan Robinson from Miami tied for 10th place, Devin Vassell from San Antonio and Gilgeous-Alexander tied for 12th place, and Aaron Nesmith from Indiana was 14th.
The MIP award is the first of seven individual trophies that will be given out in the coming weeks, along with All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.
