Knicks Advance to Eastern Conference Semifinals
On Tuesday, the New York Knicks wanted to close out this first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers at home in Madison Square Garden in front of their hometown fans. However, the Sixers would take Game Five, to force a Game Six in Philadelphia. During the sixth game of this series, both teams went back and forth with each other like they had been with one another all series long. It would be a close and tightly contested matchup until the final buzzer sounded off with the Knicks miraculously pulling off a Game Six 118-115 win to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals where New York will host the Indiana Pacers at MSG for the first two games of the second round. With eliminating a tough-minded Philadelphia 76ers team, how far can the New York Knicks go?
At one point during the first quarter, the Knicks held a 33-11 lead. With a dominating 20-plus point lead in hand during the early goings of this game, many felt that New York was going to breeze by this Game Six matchup. Philadelphia went on an 11-3 run at the end of the quarter to bring their deficit to 12 points. Throughout most of the second quarter, the 76ers fought back and eventually took their first lead of the game with about 90 seconds remaining before heading into halftime. Even with their great first quarter, the Knicks would find themselves down three after the first half. These two teams continued to go at one another during the third quarter. However, the Knicks would tie this game up at 83 after three-quarters of play.
Both the Knicks and the 76ers showed how badly they wanted to win in the fourth. New York held an eight-point lead with three and a half minutes remaining. Philadelphia would come back to tie this game at 111 with 35 seconds left. Josh Hart hit a huge three-pointer to give the Knicks a three-point lead. Joel Embiid drove in a layup to put the Sixers down one with 21 seconds left. Donte DiVincenzo hit two free throws for the Knicks, while Tyrese Maxey knocked down two free throws for the 76ers. With eight seconds left the Knicks held a one-point lead. Philadelphia would foul Jalen Brunson, who hit both free throws extending the Knicks lead to three. The Sixers tried to run up the court and give out a last-second shot to push this game into overtime. Buddy Hield missed a near half-court shot for the 76ers, which meant the Knicks obtained the huge and much-needed Game Six win.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 41 points in addition to recording three rebounds, and 12 assists. Donte DiVincenzo finished with 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and three blocks in the win. Joel Embiid had 39 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block for the Sixers. In nearly 22 minutes off the bench, Buddy Hield scored 20 points in the loss.
