Tyrese Maxey celebrated clutch shot right in Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller’s unhappy faces
We've seen Ben Stiller unhappy many times over the years. Globo Gym lost to Average Joe's. The campers in Heavweights overcame Tony Perkis. Derek Zoolander gave himself a front wedgie to lose to Hansel in the walk-off. We've never seen him like he was Tuesday night, though, when he had a front-row seat to Tyrese Maxey's late-game heroics to spoil what looked like a sure Knicks win in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks were up six with 28.6 seconds to go after Deuce McBride's free-throw line jumper, but Maxey went nuclear to force overtime, first by baiting Mitchell Robinson into fouling him on a 3 to create a four-point play, then by swishing a leaner from the logo to tie it with 8.1 left.
Maxey didn't stop in overtime, hitting a clutch 3 to pull the Sixers back within two, then icing the game for good with two free throws in the closing seconds. In the end, the NBA's Most Improved Player scored 46 points to outduel Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 of his own but had a back-breaking turnover in the final minute of overtime.
Stiller went viral after the game, as his and fellow actor Tracy Morgan's reactions to Maxey's game-tying heroics were captured for the world to see (be sure to click it to see Stiller's face).
Ben Stiller hasn't been hurt this badly by an athlete since Brett Fa-VRE tried to steal his girl in There's Something About Mary
The internet had some fun at Stiller and Morgan's expense, with one poster commenting, "Nah Maxey just hit y'all with the Blue Steel. Sixers in 7." Another compared Stiller hissing at Maxey to Jinx the Cat from Meet the Parents.
Stiller didn't hide from it after the game, and he remained confident that the Knicks would prevail in the series.
Thanks to Maxey's season-saving shotmaking, the series is still far from over. Game 6 will shift to the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night, where we'll find out if Joel Embiid's disappointment in Sixers fans results in a better home-court advantage than it did in Game 4. If the Sixers can force Game 7, you know Stiller will once again be courtside living and dying with every play.
If Philly finds a way to come back and win this series, Maxey's out-of-body experience in Game 5 will live forever in NBA lore, as will Stiller's reaction to it. Stiller is confident, but a repeat performance from Maxey at MSG means we might finally find out if anyone can make him bleed his own blood.