There are the announcers’ “jinxes” and then there’s whatever voodoo the Philadelphia 76ers broadcast team played with Monday night.
The 76ers’ Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup against the New York Knicks was less than a minute away, but the NBC Sports Philadelphia crew couldn’t wait to get started on the festivities. In their defense, the Sixers led the Knicks 101-96 with just over 47 seconds left, even after Kyle Lowry missed the second half of a two-free throw set. The win and return to the Wells Fargo Center best-of-seven series seemed inevitable, and the visiting broadcasters weren’t shy about declaring it.
“The goal is to get home-court advantage by winning one of two road games,” said color commentator Alaa Abdelnaby ( h/t @DJACENBA on X ). “Job done, let’s go to the (Pennsylvania) Turnpike.”
Play-by-play woman Kate Scott agreed, noting that the network’s resulting postgame coverage would be “fun.” But business in Philadelphia took on a decidedly somber tone after a metropolitan miracle, which saw Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo combine a 3-pointer off a Josh Hart steal, creating the margin needed for a 104-101 Knicks victory. New York then holds a 2–0 series lead, holding such a lead in a playoff series for the first time since the 2013 opening round.
Scott’s tone went from jovial to stoic as Abdelnaby noted that the Sixers’ rebounding had proven to be their “Achilles’ heel.” It was an Isaiah Hartenstein rebound that partially saved the day for the Knicks as the starting center emerged with the ball after DiVincenzo’s first attempt at a go-ahead shot failed.