Both Western and Eastern Conference number one seeds now face elimination after the Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz lost Game 5 and now trail 2-3 in the series.
The Sixers lost two games in a row and dropped their 2-1 lead. According to NBA legend Charles Barkley, who spent 8 seasons in Philadelphia as a player, his former team choked and deserved to lose for wasting a 26-point lead and conceding 40 points in the fourth quarter.
“This was a complete choke job,” Barkley said on Inside The NBA. “You don’t be up 26 in a must win game.. First of all, you gave up 40 points in the last quarter. You’re up 26.. First of all, you should be mad from the last game when you gave up 18-point lead.
“You come home, you get up 26. But the problem, Ernie, is they brag about how good they are defensively ‘I should be the Defensive Player of the Year, I should the Defensive Player of the Year.’ You gave 40 at home in a playoff game. They just choked that away.
“I could get here and say Lou Williams was fantastic and Gallinari was fantastic to get them back in the game and then Trae finished it off. I really want to fly to Philly and just listen to the radio tomorrow on my off day. They deserved to get roasted.”
