The energy in MSG was celebratory, excited, gearing up for whatever raucous chants were about to unfold outside on 8th Ave.
The Knicks were mere seconds away from eliminating the Sixers and enemy Joel Embiid, earning their first series-clinching win at MSG in 25 years.
And then it happened.
The epic Knicks collapse.
The Maxey Miracle.
Tyrese Maxey, the stud all series for the Sixers and especially in Tuesday’s 112-106 overtime win, single-handedly erased a six-point Knicks lead in a span of 17 seconds near the end of regulation.
It was a stunning sequence, requiring mental and physical lapses from the Knicks.
Trailing 96-90, Maxey converted a four-point play with 25.4 seconds left because he was fouled on the trey by an overeager Mitchell Robinson.
Josh Hart then missed 1 of 2 from the charity stripe, and Maxey, devoid of a conscience at this point, pulled up from 30 feet for the tying 3-pointer with 8.1 ticks remaining.
Brunson’s potential winner was swatted away on the final possession by Nic Batum and, about a week after the Knicks completed their own miracle comeback at MSG in Game 2, they were buried by Philly magic.
All those plays were preventable from the Knicks and they acknowledged as such.
On Robinson’s foul: “I f–ked up,” he said.
On Josh Hart’s missed free throw: “I gotta take that one on the chin and not let it happen again.
On not fouling Maxey before his tying 3-pointer: “Our communication has to be better,” Tom Thibodeau said.
And then on an ugly overtime from Brunson, who shot 1-for-6 with two turnovers in the final four minutes: “Careless.”
Thibodeau’s squad now goes back to Wells Fargo Center with a 3-2 lead for Thursday’s Game 6.
Hartenstein after passing up a shot in mid-air during overtime of the Knicks’ loss. Robert Sabo for New York Post
“We can do better,” Thibodeau said, “and we will.”
Maxey was the magician with 46 points, shooting 17 for 30 to overcome an underwhelming turnover-laden night from Embiid.
The Knicks scored the first five points of OT but were outscored in the final four minutes, 15-4, sending a deflated crowd to the exits at 4 Penn Plaza.
Brunson followed up his 47-point effort in Game 4 with 40 in Game 5, hitting 15 of 32 but also folded down the stretch.
His turnover with 18.2 seconds left in OT ruined a chance at recovering from the Maxey miracle, as Brunson elevated for a jumper but changed his mind midair and tried to pass to a teammate who was no longer there.
From there, the Knicks’ two-point deficit turned to six.
Game over.
“Just a tough way to lose a ballgame,” Thibodeau said.
Their start of the game was a bit of a slog.
The Knicks missed their first eight shots and didn’t crack the scoreboard until 4 ½ minutes after tipoff. They finished the quarter with just 17 points with more fouls (5) than assists (3) and trailed by nine.
The second quarter was a different tale.
The Knicks began it with an 18-2 run to turn a nine-point deficit into a 7-point lead.
The highlight was an alley-oop pass from Hart, who caught a ball midair and didn’t touch the court before tossing his assist to a dunking Robinson.
New York led at the break, 49-43, and by only 1 heading into the fourth quarter to set up the Maxey Miracle.
A few hours before tipoff, Brunson was asked about the last time the Knicks clinched a playoff series win at home and he knew the answer before the question was finished.
“1999.”
That was so long ago Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks player and Tom Thibodeau was an assistant. Each had a healthy head of hair.
Now? Thibodeau had just a few strands before Game 5 and probably lost a few more during that collapse.
It only took one different decision or action in those 25 final seconds of regulation — whether it was not fouling Maxey on the 4-pointer or Hart hitting a free throw or actually fouling Maxey before his final trey — and the Knicks wouldn’t have to worry about Game 6.
Now they’re going back down the turnpike again.
