Knicks take 2–0 series lead after tight Game 2 win over 76ers

The game turned in 30 ridiculous seconds. New York looked cooked, down five late, with Jalen Brunson struggling most of the night and Philadelphia finally seeming to have control. Then the Knicks ripped off an 8-0 burst, Donte DiVincenzo buried a chaos-ball 3, and Madison Square Garden went from funeral quiet to full panic-party. That 104-101 win on April 22, 2024 gave New York a 2-0 lead, but the real story was how the Knicks won — by surviving a game they probably should have lost. (nba.com) ### How did this flip so fast? Philadelphia led 100-96 with under 30 seconds left. Brunson finally got downhill for a quick basket. Josh Hart then stripped the inbounds, the ball pinged around, DiVincenzo missed an open 3, grabbed the rebound sequence back through traffic, and drilled the second one with 13 seconds left for a 102-100 Knicks lead. It was one of those end(nba.com)n real time it was just pure disorder. (espn.com) ### Why was that shot such a big deal? Because it rescued a rough Brunson night and flipped the emotional balance of the series. Brunson had carried New York all year, but in this game he shot poorly before making the late layup that started the rally. DiVincenzo’s 3 became the clean headline, but the possession really summed up the Knicks’ whole identity — crash, scr(espn.com)ast miss. (espn.com) ### What did Brunson actually give them? He finished with 24 points and 8 assists. That was not one of his clean, surgical scoring games. But late playoff games are not always about efficiency. Sometimes they are about staying calm long enough to make the one play that keeps the season from tilting. Brunson’s late basket did that, and his control of the offense kept N(espn.com)ived. (basketball-reference.com) ### What did Philly get from its stars? Quite a lot, which is why this loss stung. Joel Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds while Tyrese Maxey added 35 points. For most of the fourth quarter, that looked like enough. Philadelphia generated the shot-making and half-court answers you want on the road. The problem is that one broken inbounds sequence and one failed scramble can erase 47 good minutes in the playoffs. (basketball-reference.com) ### Was there controversy too? Yes — and it lingered after the buzzer. The 76ers were furious about the officiating on the late inbounds chaos, feeling they should have gotten a timeout or a foul call before New York’s steal-and-scramble possession. That frustration mattered because the ending was so thin at the margins. When a game swings on one loose-ball sequence, everyone rewatches the whistle as much as the shot. (espn.com) ### So did New York take control? Yes, but not in the comfortable way a 2-0 lead can suggest. This was a steal, not a stranglehold. The Knicks defended home court, but they did it by escaping. That matters because the series moved to Philadelphia, where Embiid and Maxey still looked fully capable of bending games. A 2-0 lead is leverage. It is not safety. (nba.com) this game still stand out? Because it showed the exact version of the Knicks that made them dangerous — relentless on the glass, emotionally loud, and weirdly comfortable in mess. Plenty of teams can execute a clean final minute. Fewer can win when the final minute turns into a bar fight. New York did that here, and that is why Game 2 felt bigger than one win. (espn.com) The bottom line is simple. This was not a Brunson masterpiece or a tidy Knicks win. It was a theft. And sometimes a stolen playoff game is the one that changes the whole series.