Starting 5, May 1: Maxey’s heroics keep Sixers alive

When you save your team’s season by doing something no one’s (ever) done before …

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition? 

Maxey’s Moment: Tyrese Maxey’s 7 points in 25 seconds kept the Sixers alive & forced a Game 6

Tables Turned: After NY pulled off an epic rally to win Game 2, Philly returned the favor in Game 5

Cavs Protect Home: Cleveland’s resurgent offense and clutch defense put them up 3-2

Bucks Stay Alive: With Giannis & Dame out, a new duo arose as the Bucks forced Game 6

Two-Way Impact: How Derrick White’s two-way play has lifted Boston to new heights

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Tonight’s TNT doubleheader gives us a pair of Game 5s, starting with the Celtics looking to close out the Heat in Boston (7:30 ET, TNT), followed by a pivotal game to break a 2-2 tie between the Mavs and Clippers in LA (10 ET, TNT).

1. MAXEY’S MOMENT

Tyrese Maxey’s breakout season added another chapter Tuesday night in New York City.

☑️ First-Time All-Star. 

☑️ Most Improved Player.

✅ Philly Playoff Hero.

Maxey scored a Playoff career-high 46 points — including a rally for the ages —to lead the Sixers over the Knicks 112-106 in OT and force a Game 6 back in Philadelphia. | Recap | Watch The Epic Finish

Philly needed every one of Maxey’s points – but there were seven in particular, scored in the final 25 seconds to spark a wild, historic and series-saving comeback – that will go down in Sixers lore.

• The History: The Sixers became the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to win a Playoff game when trailing by 6+ points in the final 25 seconds of regulation
• Maxey’s Flurry: No player since 1997-98 had scored 7+ pts in the final 25 seconds to lead a comeback win, while also being down 6+ in that time frame

The 4-Point Play: After Deuce McBride put the Knicks up six with 29 seconds left, the Sixers put the ball in Maxey’s hands out of a timeout.

• He caught it in the backcourt, raced toward the 3-point line and pump-faked, then hit the leaning triple with the foul past the 7-foot Mitchell Robinson to make it a two-point game
• LJ In The Building: Larry Johnson – who made the most famous 4-point play in Knicks history in the 1999 East Finals – was sitting courtside with fellow Knicks legends for Maxey’s shot

The Game-Tying Deep 3: After Josh Hart split a pair of free throws, the Sixers were down 3 with 15 seconds left and no timeouts. Once again they got the ball to Maxey.

• As Maxey crossed halfcourt, he used a Joel Embiid screen to get free from his defender. With Robinson waiting for him at the 3-point line, Maxey launched from the logo and drained a 35-footer to tie the game at 97 and finish the miracle

After Jalen Brunson’s potential game-winner at the buzzer was blocked by Nic Batum, the game went to OT, where Maxey hit a 3 to ignite a 9-0 Sixers run to gain control.

• Sixers Coach Nick Nurse: “Just kept encouraging him to take his chances, take his shots and make plays … and he certainly did it.”
• Kelly Oubre Jr. On The Game-Tying 3: “It’s just ultra confidence and it’s the will not to lose… the way he was flowing in that 4th and OT, everything was good.”
• Tobias Harris: “What he was able to do was spectacular for us… it was a big time game from a big time player.”
• Maxey On The Win: “That’s a lot of emotions. I’m a happy guy, but I absolutely hate losing.”

The Rise Of Tyrese: The all-time Playoff performance added a new iconic moment in Maxey’s superstar rise. Go inside his journey here.

2. SIXERS STUN KNICKS  & A CLASSIC MOVES TO GAME 6

An Instant Classic: When McBride’s jumper put the Knicks up six with 28.9 seconds to play, the Sixers were faced with two options:

• Watch their season come to an end
• Make history and force Game 6

Thanks to Maxey’s heroics — not to mention a triple double and a game-sealing save by an ailing Joel Embiid — the Sixers forced OT and prolonged a series that’s turning into a classic.

• Maxey-Brunson Duel: Maxey outdueled Brunson (40 pts, 6 ast, 4 3s) in a clash of the two first-time All-Stars
• Embiid In Special Class: Joel Embiid (19 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast, 4 blk in 48 min) recorded his first career Playoff triple-double, becoming just the 7th player with a Playoff trip-dub that also included 4+ blocks

Turning The Tables: Philly’s epic rally echoed the stunning finish that the Knicks put together in Game 2, when they overcame a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds to take a 2-0 lead.

• Seeing Double: This is the first time since 1997-98 that both teams in a series have won a game after being down by 4+ points in the final minute of regulation
• Staying Alive: Unlike the Knicks in Game 2, the Sixers were in “win-or-go home” mode as a loss would have ended their season. Now, the Sixers will still “go home” to Philly … just to host Game 6 on Thursday night (9 ET, TNT)

How Close Has This Series Been? Through five games these teams are separated by just two total points. While the Knicks are up 3-2 in games, the composite score of 534-532 favors the Sixers.

The series has been within six points (two possessions) for 177 minutes and 12 seconds so far, which is the fourth most through five games of a series in the last 10 seasons:

• 183:37: GSW vs. CLE (2015 NBA Finals)
• 182:35: UTA vs. LAC (2017 First Round)
• 181:05: MIL vs. CHI (2015 First Round)
• 177:12: PHI vs. NYK (2024 First Round)
• 171:01: TOR vs. MIA (2016 East Finals)

3. MOBLEY BLOCK CAPS CAVS WIN

Cavs Take 3-2 Lead: Donovan Mitchell provided the offense – scoring 14 of his 28 points in the 4th – and Evan Mobley provided the defense with a game-sealing block on Franz Wagner with six seconds left as the Cavs edged out the Magic 104-103. | Recap | Watch The Final 4:12

• Mobley finished with 14 points, 13 boards and two blocks, while Darius Garland added 23 pts and five assists in the win
• Mitchell On The Win: “We handled business, but once tomorrow hits, once 12 o’clock hits, it’s over with.  We gotta go down there and do the same thing”
• Home Teams 5-0: After dropping both games in Orlando and being held to 86 ppg, the Cavs found their offense (series-highs of 104 pts and 13 3s) to improve to 3-0 at home in the series
• Cavs Spoil Paolo’s Night: Paolo Banchero’s 39 points (16 in the 4th) were not only a Playoff career-high, but the third-most points the reigning ROY has scored in an NBA game
• What’s Next? Game 6 in Orlando on Friday (Time TBD). Can the Magic keep the home streak alive and force Game 7? Or can the Cavs close it out and book a date with Boston in the East Semis?

4. BUCKS STAY ALIVE, FORCE GAME 6

Bucks Stay Alive: With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard both out again, the Bucks got 29 points apiece from Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis to defeat the Pacers 115-92 and force Game 6 in Indy. | Recap

• More History: The Bucks became the first team in NBA Playoff history a to win a game without its top 2 scorers from the regular season
• 25+ Points Streak: Middleton (29 pts, 12 reb) has scored 25+ points in each of the past three games. It’s the third such streak of his career, the last one coming during Milwaukee’s 2021 title run
• Playoff Career-High: Portis (29 pts, 10 reb) bounced back from a first-quarter ejection in Game 4 to post the highest scoring game of his Playoff career

• Pat Bev Doubles Up: Beverley (13 pts, 12 ast) posted his first Playoff double-double since 2019 with the Clippers
• Indy Offense In Check: Tyrese Haliburton (16 pts, 6 ast) led the Pacers, who were held below 100 points for the second time this series (both losses) after scoring fewer than 100 just once in the regular season
• What’s Next? Game 6 is set for Thursday in Indy (6:30 ET, TNT)

5. DERRICK WHITE’S TWO-WAY IMPACT

Boston’s Brad Stevens was named NBA Executive of the Year on Tuesday for his work in building the Celtics roster that won a league-high 64 games this season.

• Stevens’ win was fueled by the success of two massive offseason trades – acquiring Kristaps Porzingis for Marcus Smart and Jrue Holiday for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and picks
• But Stevens’ retooling of the roster goes back further, with one of his first big moves coming at the 2022 trade deadline when he acquired Derrick White from the Spurs

White delivered an iconic Celtics win last year with a buzzer-beating putback to force a Game 7 of the 2023 East Finals. But his best Playoff performance came in Monday’s Game 4 win (38 pts, 8 3s) as Boston put the Heat on the brink.

• Jaylen Brown On White: “He’s just crafty, does a little bit of everything, always in the right place at the right time.”
• Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla: “He can impact the game in different ways each and every night. He goes into the game with an open mind looking for different ways to impact the offense, defense, transition scoring, playmaking.”

Two-Way Impact: White has been instrumental in Boston’s success on both sides of the ball all season, leading the league in NetRtg (min 30 mpg) — and that’s carried over to the Playoffs.

• Offense: White is averaging 21.8 points on 56.9% shooting from the field, while making a team-high four 3s per game on 47.1% shooting
• Defense: White has held his matchups to a total of 38 points on 38.6% shooting (17-44) with three blocks, while forcing more turnovers (12) than assists allowed (10)

Sharing the Credit: White says the belief that Mazzulla and his All-Star teammates have shown him during this series and throughout his Boston tenure has empowered his success.

• White: “It starts with Joe. Ever since he took over he’s just gave me the most confidence…
• “We got such great players on the team but they allow me to do what I do and believe in me and that’s big.”

White and the Celtics are one win away from advancing to the East Semis. Their first shot to close it out is tonight at home (7:30 ET, TNT).