Maxey nearly rallies 76ers before late turnover in Game 2 loss

Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (0) gestures after making a 3-point basket during the second half of Game 2 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK — Tyrese Maxey’s body was hurting and he was battling the chills on his off night in New York.

He was dealing with a different kind of pain Monday.

Maxey nearly rallied the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory with a sensational fourth quarter, only to commit the turnover that led to Donte DiVincenzo’s go-ahead 3-pointer as the New York Knicks pulled out a 104-101 win for a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

READ: NBA: Knicks with wild comeback to stun 76ers for 2-0 lead

Maxey finished with 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds after missing the morning shootaround, saying he began feeling sick Sunday night.

“I don’t feel great at all, honestly. I mean, I don’t like taking medicine, everybody knows that like, I really can’t stand taking medicine, but I took medicine, IV, I did whatever they asked me to do,” Maxey said. “I wasn’t missing the game, so it didn’t matter.”

He opened the game with three straight 3-pointers for a 9-0 lead, and after the Knicks finally went ahead in the third quarter, the All-Star point guard did his best work in the fourth.

READ: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart help Knicks beat 76ers in Game 1

The speedy Maxey scored 15 points in the period, with his 3-pointer giving the Sixers a 100-96 edge with 1:09 remaining. But after the Knicks cut it to 101-99 on Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer, Philadelphia tried to inbound the ball to Maxey. He couldn’t come up with a clean catch and fell to the court, with Josh Hart seizing the ball from him and the Knicks eventually getting it to DiVincenzo after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer with 13 seconds to go.

“I can’t turn the ball over. Can’t lose the ball and we got to get the rebound,” Maxey said.

Maxey then had his drive to the basket blocked on the next possession with a chance to get the lead back, but it was the turnover on the previous play, when he was swarmed by Brunson and Hart, that was more costly.

“Tried my best,” Maxey said.

The finalist for the Most Improved Player award scored 33 points in Game 1. But the Sixers have nothing to show for his strong play so far.

“Got to put it behind us now,” Maxey said. “You’ve got 48 hours to think about it and come up with a plan to get two at home.”