Georges Niang said Tuesday that he had "never seen" anything like what transpired on Monday night near the end of the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 1 win over the Boston Celtics when teammate Tyrese Maxey beat Boston's shot clock.
Georges Niang on the Maxey pick-six: "I've never seen that play in basketball before where everybody just like stopped... Everyone's yelling, 'Go!' but Tyrese is fast enough to let everyone get a 3-second head start to catch him and still be able to dunk it with nobody around."
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) May 2, 2023
As the Celtics had possession with a 113-112 lead, 33 seconds left on the game clock and the shot clock about to expire, Maxey picked off Boston guard Malcolm Brogdon's wild pass and coasted in for a wide-open dunk to propel Philadelphia to an eventual 119-115 road victory.
If Brogdon's pass wasn't put exactly where it ended up at that exact moment, the shot clock could've sounded, and though it would've resulted in a Celtics turnover, it would've taken away Maxey's breakaway bucket.
TYRESE MAXEY GIVES THE SIXERS THE LEAD!!!! pic.twitter.com/vbwzBIGxDL
— Oh no he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 2, 2023
Jayson Tatum would connect on two go-ahead free throws on the following Boston possession, but it was Maxey's heads up (and bizarre-looking steal and dunk) that had lots of people talking late Monday night, as well as James Harden's game-winning three-pointer.
Harden tied his playoff-career-high of 45 points (including 15 in the fourth quarter alone), shooting an efficient 17-for-30 and 7-for-14 on three-pointers, while Maxey had 26 points and played great defense with a game-high four steals.
With MVP finalist Joel Embiid's status still very much in doubt for Wednesday's Game 2, Sixers fans have to be feeling good after not only taking the series opener in a hostile environment but without their best player as well.
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