Julius Randle couldn’t pull it off twice and the Knicks lost a heartbreaker.
Randle’s push of Tobias Harris became the biggest play of a wild 101-100 Sixers’ overtime victory Sunday the Knicks. It occurred with 5.3 seconds left — and with much complaining from the Knicks about the whistle — and sent Harris to the line for the game-winning free throws.
Randle’s game-winning attempt then bounced out of the rim at the buzzer, completing Philadelphia’s three-game season sweep of New York.
It was a complete reversal from regulation, when Randle’s push off on Harris wasn’t called and he nailed a tying 3-pointer. Randle’s shot had no business going in; it required a bounce off the rim that defied physics. But it dropped. And the Knicks played their first OT game of the season.
The Sixers (30-13) should’ve buried the Knicks but Harris missed two foul shots before Randle’s game-tying 3-pointer. Just one free throw would’ve probably ended the game.
But Harris bailed himself out in OT.
The Knicks (21-22) have defeated just one currently team over .500 (the Atlanta Hawks) since Feb. 6. They’ve failed in recent matchups against the cream of the Eastern Conference, the Bucks, Nets and Sixers (twice).
Sunday was a defensive battle as only RJ Barrett (19 points) and Nerlens Noel (13) shot above 50% for New York. Randle dropped a game-high 24 points but required 23 shots. Shake Milton scored 21 points for the Sixers, who were again playing without their injured MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
Mitchell Robinson played 17 minutes off the bench in his return from a 15-game absence due to a broken hand. His performance was decent, and the hand clearly wasn’t a problem when Robinson emphatically dunked a putback in the second quarter. He finished with four points and six rebounds on 2-of-5 shooting. His return sent Taj Gibson into a DNP and out of the rotation. Still, Noel logged logged the vast majority of time at center.
With Derrick Rose (health and safety protocols) and Elfrid Payton (strained hamstring), Immanuel Quickley started at point guard and the Knicks struggled off the opening tip. They trailed 17-4 after seven minutes and by as many as 14 in the second quarter. But they ended the first half on a 13-0 run and carried their momentum carried over after the break.
In a bit of an oddity, the game only featured two referees. The third official, Dannica Mosher, was ruled out per the league’s health and safety protocols, according to an NBA spokesperson. Although the Knicks were furious about the pushoff call that essentially ended the game, replays showed Randle indeed shoved Harris.
