Philadelphia 76ers fans certainly have something to complain about after a ridiculously tight Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks.
The NBA’s L2M (Last 2 Minute) report found that there were four incorrect calls in the final two minutes of New York’s 104-101 win on Monday, including two potentially decisive missed fouls on the in-bound play to Tyrese Maxey that won the Knicks the game.
The 76ers were up 101-96 with 47.3 seconds to go in the back-and-forth outing at Madison Square Garden. Already down 1-0 in the series, securing a win on the road could’ve shifted the tides drastically in their first-round matchup against the Knicks.
According to the report, which was released on Tuesday, there was a foul missed with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter where the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson pulled on Maxey’s jersey, affecting the latter’s ability to secure the pass. This would lead to the pass being bobbled by the 76ers guard, who had to lunge to try to recover it.
Then, with 24.9 seconds left, Knicks wing Josh Hart also fouled Maxey, according to the report, stepping into his space and initiating lower-body contact that caused him to lose balance and fall to the floor. After Maxey fell to the court, the Knicks managed to snatch away the loose ball and set up an extra offensive possession.
That possession would ultimately lead to Donte DiVincenzo’s decisive 3-pointer which gave the Knicks the lead with 13 seconds left.
The report also mentioned missed calls on 76ers centre Joel Embiid with 34.7 seconds left for putting his hand in DiVincenzo’s face and on Knicks wing OG Anunoby with 1:14 left for a defensive three-second foul.
These blown calls drew the ire of the 76ers after the loss, with Embiid in particular sounding off on missed fouls during his locker room availability.
“Unacceptable,” Embiid said in the locker room, visibly frustrated and not showing his face. “Tyrese [Maxey] got fouled a couple of times. We just had the same thing happen against Miami, with Tyler Herro. That’s just unacceptable, to put us in that situation. Yeah. That’s [expletive] unacceptable. And to lose a game like this, especially in the playoffs.”
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There was also controversy and rampant complaints about the referees seemingly ignoring head coach Nick Nurse’s call for a timeout in the dying seconds.
“The timeout request is simultaneous to Hart making contact with the ball and (Philadelphia) not having possession,” the report said.
The former Raptors head coach tried to call a timeout twice during the inbound play that saw Maxey lose the ball, leading to the game-winning three-pointer from DiVincenzo.
“You can ask him if you want to, see if he saw me calling a timeout,” Nurse said, evidently frustrated. “I watched the film just to make sure. I’m clearly calling a timeout, I didn’t see if he looked at me in the film but I can see me clearly calling timeout. Twice.”
Embiid mentioned that it wasn’t just Nurse trying to stop the game in that decisive sequence, saying that the whole team was ignored by the officials at the end.
“Everybody on the floor was trying to call a timeout, myself included,” Embiid said in the locker room after the game, also visibly frustrated. “Nico [Batum], coach on the sideline, but they didn’t give it to us.”
Following the game and the team’s media availabilities, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported that the 76ers plan to file a grievance with the NBA about the officiating across the first two games of the series.
With the L2M report confirming their claims of missed calls that could have a direct correlation to the result of the game, their case against the referees could be strengthened.
The 76ers now head back to Philadelphia down 2-0, a series deficit the franchise has never recovered from. Despite that daunting history, the 76ers remain confident and seemingly have a chip on their shoulder for the rest of the series.
“It makes the series a little longer,” Nurse said, sure that his team can still get the job done.
“We’re good, we’re going to win this series,” Embiid said. “We’re the better team, we’re going to keep fighting.”
The two teams will head to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Thursday. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
