Another Steller Performance By Brunson
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Samori Benjamin
DiVincenzo (L) Hart (R) Come Up Big For New York
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
In the first playoff series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in 35 years, the Knicks clinched the first-round series on Thursday night and did something that they had not done in 25 years. With their 118-115 series clinching win over Philly the Knicks have now won a playoff series in consecutive seasons for the first time since the franchise won at least one playoff series in nine straight seasons from 1992-2000.
After becoming the first team in NBA Playoff history to lose a game after holding a six-point lead with under 30 seconds remaining in Game Five Tuesday night, the Knicks bounced back from the mental blow by jumping on the Sixers early in Game Six, building a 21-point lead with 2:22 left in the first quarter. “The start of the game was important for us, to bounce back like that, to be ready to build a big lead. They fought back, then we responded again,” Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game.
At the 1:36 mark in the second quarter after Sixers forward Kelly Oubre hit a three Philadelphia took the lead for the first time in the game 49-47. Midway through the third quarter the Knicks looked as if they were on the brink of being run off the court down 71-61 with 6:54 to go in the period and the Philadelphia crowd as loud as it had been all season, doing everything they could to lift their team. Donte DiVincenzo had what may have been the turning point of the game at the 6:20 mark of the quarter when his three got the Knicks back to within seven, staving off the Sixers push to run the lead up in an arena that was hard for anyone to avoid headache symptoms every time the Sixers made a basket and the crowd erupted. The Knicks closed the quarter on a 21-11 run from that point to even the score at 83 heading into the fourth quarter.
Down the stretch the Knicks made four clutch free throws in the final eleven seconds to seal the game at the free throw line, something they were not able to do at the end of regulation in Game Five.
For the Knicks, all five starters scored in double figures led by Jalen Brunson’s game-high 41 points and Donte DiVincenzo had 23 points. “In the fourth quarter it was one big play after the next, and a lot of times it was the hustle plays, and that’s the thing I love about our team, it’s a team, they are fighters, and they don’t stay down.” Thibodeau said.
Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP finished with 39 points and 13 rebounds. Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey who gave the Knicks fits all series long had his worst shooting night of the series making just 6 of 18 shots for 17 points. Embiid still remains the only MVP in NBA history to never reach the Conference Finals as he finishes his tenth NBA season. “It sucks to lose, our goal is to win the championship, anytime that does not happen I don’t even care about it,” Embiid said after the game. “I don’t care if we got to the second round, that doesn’t mean anything to me, we just didn’t accomplish what we wanted to.” This year Embiid and the Sixers did not even get to the second round.
The Knicks now move on to the Eastern Conference Finals where they will face Indiana who they played six times in the playoffs from 1993 through 2000. The Knicks also faced Indiana in the conference semifinals in 2013 where they were upset by the lower-seeded Pacers in six games. Game One will be Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
