Knicks wanted to foul Maxey but “miscommunicated” plan

If you’re like me, you hated it.

The Knicks lost Game 5 on Tuesday in soul-breaking fashion to the Sixers after giving up a whole bunch of points in the final 27 seconds of play and, most damagingly, allowing point guard Tyrese Maxey to hoist a game-tying shot that should have never left his paws.

Philly inbounded the rock with barely 15 seconds on the clock still down three points, score 97-94 New York. Maxey crossed halfcourt with around 11 seconds left in regulation and dodged Knicks’ point guard Deuce McBride as he was screened by the towering Joel Embiid on the sequence.

Tom Thibodeau was screaming from the top of his lungs on the sideline calling for his boys to commit the intentional foul on Maxey, denying him the chance of putting up the three that could—and eventually, would—send the game to OT.

“I foul 100% of the time [in that situation],” basketball connoisseur Charles Barkley said after the game on TNT. “It’s just a bonehead play in my opinion.”

And after the game, as the clip in the tweet above shows, every Knicks player and their mother acknowledged there was a “miscommunication” on that late-game play, making everything worse if that is even possible.

“Yeah, we talked about [intentionally fouling Maxey] but, I don’t...,” OG Anunoby explained. “It happened so fast. But yeah, it was said.”

“We didn’t relay that, and I think that’s an error on the guys on the court,” Hart said. “We got to make sure we know what the situation is. But we can’t do anything about it now.”

McBride, who was the man taking the Maxey assignment on that fateful play, said that he “probably should have been up on him a little bit more,” instead of dropping before having to navigate Embiid’s screen and losing Tyrese, via Fred Katz of The Athletic.

There is nothing incredibly good about Maxey’s decision to shoot from his house, mind you, and it wasn’t the best of shots you’ll find out there, but he truly shot his shot and found paydirt. It is what it is.

The most frustrating thing is that everybody seemed to know they should foul because they were aware of the situation, the score, the consequences of a made three, and well, they were probably also hearing a mad Thibs shouting at them.

“Just tough way to lose a ballgame,” Thibodeau said in his postgame presser. “We had a lead. We’ve got to play tougher with the lead.”

This was just a single play and a miscommunication in a sea of errors and bonkers actions leading up to the most improbable outcome.

Russell penned the Scenes. Sam got the Recap. See you Thursday invading Cheesesteak Arena.

Knicks in Six.