Harten secured the rebound, and the Knicks launched a push counter-attack.
Chen Xi quickly dribbled across half court. His eyes lit up as he spotted a gap in the Philadelphia 76ers' retreating defense, and he fired a long pass!
It was a beautiful lead pass, sharp and precise, threading past several players and guiding Ethan into another burst of speed straight toward the paint.
Then Tari Eason extended his long arms and caught the ball cleanly. He followed with a power dribble, bumped Oubre aside, took another step toward the basket, and rose to finish the layup.
The beautiful transition play pushed the score to 18–10.
Things were growing increasingly grim for Philadelphia.
Once they regained possession, Maxey finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
He dribbled across half court and signaled a play at the top of the key, calling his teammates up to set staggered screens. Then he accelerated off the double screen from Embiid and Oubre, drove straight into the paint, and forced up a layup against Harten's help defense.
Unfortunately, Maxey missed this one too. Harten had provided a solid contest, and Maxey himself had failed to control the ball properly on the finish.
Fortunately, the referee on the baseline stepped in at that moment and blew his whistle.
He ruled that Harten's contact constituted a shooting foul.
Maxey then stepped to the free-throw line and made both shots, earning two points and barely managing to steady the situation for the Philadelphia 76ers.
But on the very next possession, it was the Knicks' turn to attack again.
Hart brought the ball to the top of the key and used Harten's screen for a feigned breakthrough. His real aim was to shift the Philadelphia 76ers' defense before passing to George on the wing.
George took