Thoughts on the Last Two Minute Report for the Knicks-Sixers Game 2

On Monday night, the New York Knicks pulled off a thrilling victory against the Philadelphia 76ers to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

In crunch time, the Knicks displayed remarkable resilience and teamwork. With 30 seconds left, Jalen Brunson’s crucial three-pointer, assisted by a fortunate bounce, narrowed the Sixers’ lead to two. The Knicks then capitalized on strategic aggression to steal the inbounds pass and Isaiah Hartenstein’s instinctive rebounding to set up Donte DiVincenzo for a game-winning triple.

The sequence highlighted the Knicks’ preparation for high-pressure situations and embodied coach Tom Thibodeau’s emphasis on constant readiness, offensive rebounding, and quick, smart ball movement. All season long they played to win every game, and that never-quit grit had them well-prepared to keep their cool late in Game Two. These Knickerbockers thrive in chaos, as the Sixers learned the hard way.

So, maybe you heard that the victory was tainted by officiating errors, per the NBA’s Last Two Minute (L2M) report, or that Philly intends to (or maybe already has) file a grievance with the league.

Of note, the report highlighted missed fouls by Knicks players Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey during a critical inbound play.

Philadelphia’s argument is that these missed calls prevented Maxey from catching the ball effectively, and if whistled, could have altered the game’s outcome by giving the Sixers potential free throws and possession. The ire felt by Philly fans over this is understandable. Upon review, however, Jalen’s jersey tug is so brief that it lasts less than a second. Maxey wasn’t inhibited significantly; he simply mishandled the flipped pass from Kyle Lowry.

And regarding the Hart contact, that could just as easily have been deemed incidental. Both he and Maxey had left their feet and their momentum resulted in a collision as Hart tried to regain his footing. That can happen when two players go after a loose ball.

Philly fans are steamed about the report. Would Knicks fans feel differently if the roles were reversed? Oh, ahhb-so-lutely. We would be rounding up fans to sign a petition and hand delivering it to Commissioner Adam Silver by dusk. But is there enough in the report to overturn the results of the game? Nope. Here is the sequence in full:

Additionally, the report states that the referees failed to recognize Sixers coach Nick Nurse’s attempts to call timeouts during this sequence. That, friends and neighbors, is hogwash.

With complete and total impartiality (scout’s honor), we’ve examined the above clip and looked specifically for Nurse’s first attempt to call a timeout. While Lowry tries to pass the ball inbounds, the coach raises his hands tentatively, begins to make the universal timeout gesture, and immediately rescinds as if touching a hot stove. Anyone (without rooting interest in the Sixers) can see that he started to call a timeout and changed his mind. So yet again, there is not enough there to overturn the results.

As for that second timeout request? That came when Maxey had already lost possession of the ball to Josh Hart. As the report states:

Hart (NYK) cleanly steals the ball from Maxey (PHI). An attempt to call a timeout by Coach Nurse (PHI) during this play is neither recognized nor granted by the officials; the timeout request is simultaneous to Hart making contact with the ball and PHI not having possession.

So, like . . . wahhh.

Despite the Sixers planning to file a grievance regarding the officiating, it is unlikely that any of the errors, individual or cumulative, would have altered the outcome of Game Two. Don’t be surprised if the refs make a few hinky calls to balance things out on Thursday in Game Three. And don’t be surprised if the chippiness between the teams—which as already been fairly chippy at times—isn’t amplified, as well.

Can’t wait. Go Knicks!