NBA Reports Several Officiating Errors Against Philly in Sixers-Knicks Game 2 – What Went Wrong?

The Philadelphia 76ers looked ready to tie the series against the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series, leading 101-96 with 47 seconds left on Monday night. What followed was one of the craziest sequences in NBA playoff history.

Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson made a clutch three-pointer, and a tipped inbound pass led to a scramble for the ball, another Knicks possession, and then a Donte DiVincenzo three-pointer gave the Knicks a one-point lead, which they would hang on to for the remainder of the game to secure a 104-101 victory.

According to the NBA’s two-minute report, multiple officiating mistakes were made during the inbound sequence against the Sixers, leading to the loss.

With 27.2 seconds remaining, “an attempt to call a timeout by Coach Nurse (PHI) during this play is neither recognized nor granted by the officials.” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse grumbled about this after Game 2. “I called timeout,” Nurse explained. “The referee looked right at me and ignored me. Tyrese Maxey got the ball. I called timeout again. He ignored me again. Then the melee started.”

With 27 seconds remaining, “Brunson (NYK) pulls Maxey’s (PHI) jersey away from his body, which affects Maxey’s ability to secure the pass.” The referees did not call this pull, which affected Maxey as he attempted to secure the inbound pass Josh Hart tipped. It should have been a foul.

With 24.9 seconds remaining, “Hart (NYK) steps forward into Maxey’s (PHI) space and initiates lower body contact that causes Maxey to lose his balance and fall to the floor.” This should have been a foul as well, meaning the Knicks fouled Maxey twice on the way to their steal, but neither was called.

While these were the most critical mistakes made in the final seconds, the officials also missed others in crucial moments of the fourth quarter.

With 1:14 remaining, OG Anunoby committed a defensive three-second violation, which was not called. It didn’t matter when Maxey made a three-pointer five seconds later, though.

With 34.7 seconds remaining, Joel Embiid fouled DiVincenzo as he began his dribble. This no-call also worked out for New York in the end, as it led to Brunson’s three-pointer, which cut the Sixers’ lead down to 101-99.

Although the Sixers will not protest the result of Monday night’s game, they will file an official complaint with the league, per team spokesman John Clark. With these missed calls, the NBA’s last two-minute reports have declared Philadelphia the most disadvantaged team regarding officiating mistakes this season.

The Sixers will host the Knicks at home on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., trying to win their home games convincingly enough to make the officiating a non-factor and get back into the series.