STEPHEN A. Smith thinks the Philadelphia 76ers missed out on winning in their Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks.
The Sixers were up 101-96 with 47 seconds left in the game when disaster struck and the game slipped away from them.
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The Knicks entered the court and got the ball to Jalen Brunson, who sank a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 101-99 as the seconds ticked down.
Then the Sixers fumbled, allowing the ball to reach Donte DiVincenzo, who made another three-pointer.
The attempt missed, but Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the offensive rebound and gave the ball back to DiVincenzo, who drained his second three-point attempt.
The shot won the game and sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy, but Sixers players complained that the referees screwed them.
Even Stephen A, a Knicks fan, said the Sixers were “robbed” by the referees.
“I think the Sixers got robbed and I’m a Knicks fan,” Stephen A. said.
Stephen A. stated that he saw Tyrese Maxey get slapped “two or three times” and the Knicks should have been called for a foul.
He also described the incident as Maxey being “blatantly mugged in the corner”.
The referees could have adopted a more relaxed approach towards the end of the game, allowing both teams to play harder to close out the contest.
Moments before the possible foul on Maxey, the Knicks’ Josh Hart was pushed out of the way by Maxey to make the tackle, which could also have been called a foul.
Regardless of what a foul was or wasn’t, the Sixers couldn’t find a way to come back after going on an 8-0 run late and fans let Stephen A. know they didn’t like his opinion.
“Look back at the play. Maxey fouled Hart just to get open. I can’t say they were robbed. They rushed out. Maxey lost the ball and got it back. Didn’t call timeout. Stop making excuses,” one fan said.
“Stolen, yeah, okay. Seriously, Stephen A. 76er…the refs just let them play,” said another fan.
“Missed fouls for both teams. Blaming the referees is weak,” said a third fan.
“You’re a Knick fan,” said a fourth fan.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
