Mitchell Robinson’s return from a one-game absence included some highlights and one very bad lowlight.
“I’m just going to take it like a man,” he said. “I f–-ked up.”
Robinson bit on Tyrese Maxey’s pump fake and jumped into the Sixers point guard as he converted a four-point play with 25 seconds left, the turning point of Philadelphia’s crazy comeback and 112-106 OT Game 5 victory Tuesday over the Knicks.
“I’ve just got to play him straight up,” Robinson said. “I wasn’t in a ready position to guard or anything like that. I f–-ked up.”
Before that play, the center, who was listed as “questionable” heading into the night with a sprained ankle, had done a solid job frustrating Joel Embiid into ineffectiveness.
The reigning MVP had a triple-double but missed 12 of his 19 shot attempts with nine turnovers.
Robinson, who scored just two points in 25 minutes, had aggravated an injury to his surgically repaired ankle during Embiid’s antic-laden Game 3.
He missed Game 4.
“S–t sucks, man,” Robinson said. “Trying to find a groove and then have to worry about that. Playoff intensity is way different than the regular season. So have to find something and stay with it.”