Beyond the refs: Dissecting how the Sixers squandered Game 2 in the chaotic final seconds

Outrage from the 76ers following Monday’s Game 2 collapse in their first-round playoff series centered on the timeout requests that were not honored, the fouls that were not called, and the grievance that will be filed.

Yet that potentially season-defining sequence — when the Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo hit a go-ahead three-pointer that shook Madison Square Garden and sent Joel Embiid into a rant calling the officiating “[expletive] unacceptable” following a crushing 104-101 defeat — is worth further dissecting a day later.

Here are four under-the-radar portions of those chaotic final 45.5 seconds, which turned a nearly solidified Sixers win into an improbable Knicks victory to give them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Sixers signed veteran Kyle Lowry off the buyout market in February because of his savvy and tough-minded mentality, his championship pedigree, and his familiarity with coach Nick Nurse. All of that should help him and the Sixers manage high-pressure, crunch-time playoff moments on the fly.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is right. The Sixers were robbed by the refs. But are they really the better team?

But Lowry missed two free throws in the final 3 minutes, 1 second, including one with 47.3 seconds to play. Had he made one of those, DiVincenzo’s three-pointer would have tied the score, not given the Knicks a 102-101 advantage. Then, even if Tyrese Maxey (or anybody) had still missed on the Sixers’ final offensive possession, they could have played straight-up defense to try to force overtime instead of fouling.

Lowry’s misfires were indicative of an uncharacteristic team-wide performance from the free-throw line for the Sixers. They shot 72.7% from the stripe, after ranking second in the NBA in percentage during the regular season (82.6%) on 23.6 attempts per game. Only three players accounted for Monday’s foul shots: Maxey (6-for-6), Lowry (2-for-4), and Embiid (8-for-12).

Additionally, Lowry could have called timeout when he took the ball following Jalen Brunson’s three-pointer and noticed Maxey getting swarmed by two defenders. Instead, he lofted an inbounds pass that Maxey acknowledged after the game was difficult to corral.

Nico Batum is typically the Sixers’ inbounder in such situations, even dressing for scheduled rest games just in case he was needed for that specific duty. But because the Sixers initially tried to get the ball in quickly, Batum remained on the other side of the floor. At one point during the scramble when Maxey hit the deck, though, Batum also subtly motioned for a timeout to another official.

Is there any surprise that Josh Hart’s fingerprints remained all over this series?

After burying three massive three-pointers in Game 1, the former Villanova star’s trademark hustle was all over that wild sequence.

Hart double-teamed Maxey, which was a huge reason for Lowry’s risky inbounds pass. Hart ripped the ball away from Maxey, then got it to DiVincenzo for his first deep shot attempt. And then Hart gravitated to the paint to position himself for a longer rebound — arguably his most dangerous skill — prompting Embiid to begin to box him out instead of finding center counterpart Isaiah Hartenstein.

Oh, and Hart was the only player on either side who logged all 48 minutes.

The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report released Tuesday evening, however, revealed that Hart should have been called for a foul on Maxey with 24.9 seconds remaining, because he “steps forward into Maxey’s space and initiates lower-body contact that causes Maxey to lose his balance and fall to the floor.”

The Sixers did a much better overall job on the glass than in Game 1, with the Knicks holding a 46-44 rebounding edge and a 12-10 advantage on the offensive boards.

But timing is everything, and that slim margin was costly.

When Maxey said the Sixers have “got to get the rebound,” he was obviously talking about Hartenstein’s offensive board that led to DiVincenzo’s go-ahead three-pointer. Embiid, Batum, and Tobias Harris were all in the vicinity under the basket, but nobody got a body on the Knicks’ big man. And though Harris did account for OG Anunoby, the Knicks’ wing got free to field the pass from Hartenstein, and then zipped the ball to the open DiVincenzo at the top.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey had his ‘Flu Game.’ Then the Sixers collapsed against the Knicks to lose Game 2.

Yet that “get the rebound” mantra could also apply to the Sixers’ final offensive possession. After an Embiid screen got Hartenstein switched onto Maxey, the Sixers cleared the way for their explosive point guard to drive. Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. were in each corner, while Batum drifted down the baseline toward the rim as Maxey made his move.

When Hartenstein got his hand on Maxey’s attempt, four Knicks were in position to get the rebound. Anunoby did, with 6.6 seconds to go. A Sixers offensive board potentially would have given them one more chance at the game-winner.

Sixers supporters already know the pain that, sometimes, the ball simply bounces fortuitously.

Collectively, the Sixers were again excellent in defending Brunson, who is now shooting 29% (16-for-55) from the floor in this series. But the rim was kind when he pulled up from beyond the arc, cutting the Sixers’ lead to 101-99 with 27.4 seconds to play.

That also came after a far-less-remembered scramble for the ball, when Lowry poked it away from Brunson but could not secure it while on the floor. DiVincenzo instead snagged the ball, setting up Brunson’s shot.

If that does not fall, however, everything that happens after does not matter.