Six points in 28.9 seconds.
That’s the deficit the 76ers overcame and the time it took them to do it in the fourth quarter of Game 5 against the Knicks.
The Sixers had one foot in the grave, but a heroic four-point play from Tyrese Maxey to cut the lead to two, shortly followed by a logo 3-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds (also from Maxey) helped them get to overtime and win.
Now, Philly heads back home with a chance to tie the series.
Can the Knicks close it out on the road or will the Sixers find a way to get to Game 7?
Knicks vs. 76ers prediction
(9:00 p.m. ET, TNT)
The pendulous momentum in this series has swung back in favor of the Sixers, who are 3.5-point favorites Thursday night at BetMGM.
While Maxey kept the Sixers alive with a 46-point explosion, there is a major concern for the team.
Philly’s two wins in the series have come from exceptional performances from either Maxey or Joel Embiid, who posted 50 points on just 19 field goal attempts in a must-win Game 3.
While the duo has combined to score 331 of the Sixers’ 534 points (62%) in the first five games, very few contributions are coming from the three other starters and even fewer from the bench (11 points per game).
Embiid’s past two outings have been underwhelming, as he has shot just 7-for-19 in each of Games 4 and 5.
The heavy minutes on Embiid’s legs could be catching up to him, and there’s little doubt the constant double-teams and physicality from the Knicks have affected his play.
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In fact, Embiid has averaged 27.3 points on merely 38.2% shooting from the field in Games 1, 2, 4 and 5.
Furthermore, a ridiculous 32.1% of his points in those games came from the free throw line.
He didn’t get the calls in Game 5 that he had been getting, resulting in just six free throw attempts and 19 total points.
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Unsurprisingly, is was his lowest point total of the series.
For the Knicks, expect some positive regression with their 3-point shooting, as they have combined to knock down just 27% of their 3s in Games 4 and 5 – 10 percentage points lower than their season average.
Take the points with the Knicks in this spot. All things considered, they are the better team.
Pick: Knicks +3.5 (-115, BetMGM)