PHILADELPHIA — Josh Hart came through.
The team’s grit-and-glue guy was left wide open on the perimeter and for the biggest Knicks shot of the evening.
He hesitated for a moment after the pass from Jalen Brunson then buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to eliminate the 76ers in Thursday’s 118-115 Game 6 victory at Wells Fargo Center.
series-clinching win over the 76ers in Game 6. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
New York’s next opponent in Round 2 is the sixth-seeded Pacers, who eliminated the No. 3 Bucks in six games.
They’re trading one Tyrese (Maxey) for another (Haliburton).
Game 1 will be Monday at MSG.
The close and hard-fought Knicks-Sixers series fittingly came down to the final seconds, with a tie game before Hart’s clutch trey.
Up three, the Knicks still needed to hit their free throws — and the other ’Nova duo, Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, knocked down four consecutive in the final 11 seconds.
Two days after the point guard failed to come through in crunch time, Brunson was tremendous when it mattered most.
He finished with 41 points, carrying the Knicks in the final 6:30.
He also got some help this time from DiVincenzo, who not only played excellent defense on Maxey but had his best shooting game of the series while scoring 23 points.
OG Anunoby was also effective while scoring 19 points — including a soaring and-one dunk late in the fourth.
For a few tense moments, however, it appeared the Knicks might again collapse.
during the third quarter of the Knicks’ win. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
They led by eight with 2:20 remaining, when Kelly Oubre started a 10-2 Sixers run with a 3-pointer.
Tyrese Maxey’s and-one layup then tied it with 35 seconds left.
That set up the biggest shot of Hart’s pro career.
Much of the discussion before the game was about the dynamic of the crowd, which was decidedly pro-Knicks by the end of Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center.
of the Knicks’ series-clinching win. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
As a counter, Sixers ownership bought 2,000 tickets to give to Philadelphians while blocking out Knicks fans.
Whether it was the tickets, the campaign or the shame of allowing their building to be overrun by opposing fans, it seemed to work.
Just before tipoff, the fans erupted in a healthy “F–- the Knicks” chant. Then they drowned out attempts of “MVP” chants for Brunson.
But Brunson kept them from going crazy early, lifting the Knicks to a 33-11 lead in less than 10 minutes.
It wasn’t until the comeback in the second quarter — which included a 27-8 Sixers run — that the dominant number of Sixers fans came into focus.
They were amped and overwhelming as Philly took a lead into halftime, riding their reigning MVP.
The Knicks, meanwhile, came into the night trying to forget about their collapse in Game 5.
“When you have an opportunity to do [finish a series], you gotta take advantage of it. Clearly we didn’t do that [in Game 5],” Brunson said prior to the game. “But for us, it’s all about how can you respond in this situation tonight?
“You can be upset about it, you can be pissed, but what are you gonna do to make sure that now you’re ready for the next one? So you can’t sit around and just be pissed off about what happened. … You gotta actually do something about it and just let it go.”
The defensive game plan was simple and smart considering the events of the previous five games, particularly Game 5.
Maxey was a headache throughout the series, a scoring machine that the Knicks had been willing to accept if it meant they were stopping Embiid. Not in Game 6.
Tom Thibodeau’s first adjustment was using DiVincenzo as the primary defender against Maxey.
It worked in the regular season but the coach largely abandoned DiVincenzo in that role for the first five games, instead using Anunoby, Hart and Miles McBride on Maxey.
DiVincenzo handled his business.
He chased around Maxey, denying him the ball and space when possible.
The Knicks also made a commitment to doubling and building a wall whenever Maxey had the ball, keeping him away from the rim.
It worked to hold Maxey to just 17 points on a miserable 6-for-18 shooting, two nights after he dropped 46 and buried the Knicks at the Garden.
But Embiid picked up the slack, taking advantage of the lesser attention by scoring 39 points.
On Tuesday, the Knicks were about 25 seconds from advancingto the second round. They had the Sixers down and out before the Maxey Miracle/Knicks chokejob.
They made up for it in Philly.
“We’re resilient,” Brunson assured. “No matter what the outside people say, positive or negative, we know what we’ve got to do. We’re going to stick together and that’s not going to change with us. I like that that’s how we think.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDI0LzA1LzAyL3Nwb3J0cy9qYWxlbi1icnVuc29uLWtuaWNrcy1jbG9zZS1vdXQtdGhyaWxsaW5nLWdhbWUtNi10by1jbGluY2gtc2VyaWVzLW92ZXItNzZlcnMv0gF1aHR0cHM6Ly9ueXBvc3QuY29tLzIwMjQvMDUvMDIvc3BvcnRzL2phbGVuLWJydW5zb24ta25pY2tzLWNsb3NlLW91dC10aHJpbGxpbmctZ2FtZS02LXRvLWNsaW5jaC1zZXJpZXMtb3Zlci03NmVycy9hbXAv?oc=5
2024-05-03 03:43:00Z
CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDI0LzA1LzAyL3Nwb3J0cy9qYWxlbi1icnVuc29uLWtuaWNrcy1jbG9zZS1vdXQtdGhyaWxsaW5nLWdhbWUtNi10by1jbGluY2gtc2VyaWVzLW92ZXItNzZlcnMv0gF1aHR0cHM6Ly9ueXBvc3QuY29tLzIwMjQvMDUvMDIvc3BvcnRzL2phbGVuLWJydW5zb24ta25pY2tzLWNsb3NlLW91dC10aHJpbGxpbmctZ2FtZS02LXRvLWNsaW5jaC1zZXJpZXMtb3Zlci03NmVycy9hbXAv
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