NBA L2M: Refs Missed Fouls on Tyrese Maxey, Nurse Timeout in 76ers' G2 Loss to Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers fans can at least take solace in one thing from Monday's wild ending of Game 2 of their team's first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.

They were right to complain about the officiating.

New York rallied back from a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds in large part because Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey following a Jalen Brunson three-pointer that cut the lead to two. Donte DiVincenzo hit a three-pointer that put the Knicks ahead for good after the steal.

However, as Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports relayed, the NBA's last-two-minute report revealed the Knicks fouled Maxey multiple times on the play that resulted in a steal. What's more, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse should have been given a timeout on the play:

The 76ers were upset about the sequence after the game and did not exactly hold back their thoughts.

Joel Embiid told reporters it was "f--king unacceptable" and added that Maxey was "fouled a couple times."

Nurse told reporters: "I called timeout. The referee looked right at me. Ignored me."

It turns out that both of them were correct, and the right calls on the floor likely would have altered the result of the Knicks' 104-101 victory. Maxey was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the loss and would have been given two free throws with the chance to push the lead back to four had the officials called the fouls.

Instead, DiVincenzo had two open looks from three and knocked the second one down. The 76ers still had an opportunity to win, but Maxey missed a shot on the other end following the DiVincenzo triple.

Embiid also missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

The end result was a 2-0 lead for the Knicks in the series. They maintained home-court advantage and have all the momentum heading into Thursday's Game 3 in Philadelphia.

Still, the 76ers can tell themselves that they should have won Monday's game. As long as they take care of business at home in the next two contests, they will have the opportunity to swing the series in their direction again at Madison Square Garden in Game 5.