New York Knicks send Philadelphia 76ers on vacation with 118-115 game six victory
The New York Knicks have officially eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers from playoff contention in six games, wining tonight at the Wells Fargo Center by a score of 118-115.
Tonight’s Game 6 looked to be over just minutes after tip off in South Philly. New York got off to a hot start and led by as many as 22 in the first half before Buddy Hield entered the game and “took over” for the struggling 76ers’ offense.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. Jalen Brunson could not be contained and with his MVP-level play down the stretch and a dagger three from Josh Hart gave the Knicks everything they needed to narrowly send the Philadelphia 76ers on vacation for the summer.
Jalen Brunson was the focal point of the Knicks offense, finishing with 41 points and 12 assists. He received vital help from his two Villanova teammates Donte DiVincenzo (23 points and 7 assists on 5-9 perimeter shooting) and Josh Hart (16 points and 14 rebounds).
Joel Embiid, battling through injuries that really seemed impossible to play through, did all he could with 39 points and 13 rebounds. The problem was the rest of the 76ers, who offered him little offensive help aside from Buddy Hield’s 20 points on 6-9 perimeter shooting.
Tyrese Maxey struggled through three quarters of play before finding a jolt of energy in the fourth and put up just 17 points on 6-18 field shooting.
The highest-paid player on the team, Tobias Harris, scored zero points on two shot attempts.
76ers come out flat in the first quarter
Despite a rejuvenated 76ers crowd at Wells Fargo Center, the Knicks were able to get off to a quick 14-4 start. New York’s offense was a well-oiled machine early on consisting of simple pin-down screens for spot-up shooters, especially Donte DiVincenzo who canned a pair of triples, and OG Anunoby, who constantly attacked the rim.
Philadelphia struggled to generate quality shots as Tyrese Maxey was swarmed off the pick-and-roll. The Knicks threw a lot of different coverages at Maxey such as hedges and traps, which was all possible with DiVincenzo’s stellar lateral movement and screen navigation.
Maxey, the hero in Game 5, scored just two points and shot 1-5 from the field in the quarter.
Joel Embiid scored the 76ers’ first nine points of the night as he dominated Isaiah Hartenstein with his face-up game consisting of pull-up jumpers and attacking close-outs that he utilized to draw two early fouls on Hartenstein midway into the period.
New York’s offense continued to operate at a near-perfect rate with Jalen Brunson getting off to a quick start drawing lots of contact off shot-fakes and routinely getting past his defender off the dribble taking advantage of mismatches as Philadelphia played switch coverage.
Stop me if you heard this before, the Knicks dominated Philadelphia on the glass and Mitchell Robinson played a pivotal role in doing so, chipping in four rebounds in the quarter – three of them from the offensive glass. New York snared nine offensive rebounds to Philadelphia’s five, earning them 13 second-chance points.Â
The Knicks were up by as much as 22 points in the quarter, but Nicolas Batum hit a pair of spot-up threes in the closing minutes of the first quarter to shorten the lead to 14 points. Embiid (9 points) and Batum (8 points) combined for 17 of the 76ers’ 2 points in the period.
76ers’ Buddy Hield explodes in second quarter
Heading into tonight, Buddy Hield has greatly struggled in this series, so much so, that he was a DNP for the past few games. Hield checked in at the beginning of the second quarter and provided a jolt to the 76ers’ offense hitting a series of spot-up threes coming off screens and pulling up from the corner as Philadelphia moved the ball remarkably well.
After a sound first quarter, New York’s offense quickly stagnated with Brunson taking some rest. With quicker rotations from Philadelphia, Embiid’s rim presence, and poor shot selection/making, the Knicks shot 1-11 from the field to start the quarter allowing the 76ers to crawl back to within two points.
Joel Embiid continued his dominance from the first quarter overpowering Hartenstein and New York’s interior defense in the low post, drawing contact, and scoring with ease.
When Embiid faced double coverage, he simply kicked it out to a scorching-hot Hield whether it was off his pass or a hockey assist.
The 76ers’ lack of bench production has almost been as troublesome as their rebounding struggles in this series, but that was certainly not the case in the first half as 30 of Philadelphia’s 54 points at intermission came from their reserves with Hield contributing a red-hot 17 points on 5-7 perimeter shooting at half.
With Hield’s offensive explosion, Philadelphia’s tightened defense, and Embiid’s two-way impact, the 76ers were able to out-score New York 32-15 in the quarter and lead 54-52 at the half, overcoming a 22-point deficit.
76ers’ Joel Embiid and Knicks’ Jalen Brunson trade baskets in the third quarter
Despite Philadelphia catching fire, the Knicks refused to go away as Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart made a statement by cutting the 76ers’ lead down to just one point in the opening minutes. Hart took full advantage of unforced turnovers from Embiid with a few transition drives and Brunson continued to get the better of Philadelphia’s man coverage.
Joel Embiid held down the 76ers’ offense, displaying his three-level scoring ability hitting a few top-of-the-key threes early on in the quarter then going back to his routine post-up and driving attack on an inferior Hartenstein, who made up for it with an array of high-arching hook-shots on the other end.
New York’s offense was in a much better rhythm in comparison to the second quarter, but that didn’t stop the 76ers from forcing turnovers and getting out into the open floor. Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. were able to tally up some quick baskets in transition after a forgettable first half performance from the two.
The third quarter was essentially a scoring duel between Joel Embiid (16 points in the quarter) and Jalen Brunson (11 points in the quarter) with key shooting contributions from both sides in the form of Cam Payne and Nicolas Batum as well as DiVincenzo and Anunoby, who knocked down a corner three to tie the game at 83 apiece heading into the final frame.
The 76ers have their fate sealed in the fourth quarter
Once again, stop me if you heard this before, the 76ers went into shambles when Embiid took a rest to start the quarter. With Paul Reed manning the interior, Josh Hart was able to sneak in and grab an offensive rebound leading to a second-chance bucket and Philadelphia allowed multiple back-cuts where weak-side help was absent.
Tyrese Maxey attempted to hold down Philadelphia’s offense without the reigning MVP as he relentlessly attacked the rim off the bounce. Although Maxey attempted quality interior shots, they simply didn’t fall with the rim protection of Mitchell Robinson and arguably a severe lack of a whistle as New York went back up by a few baskets.
After not playing in the third quarter, Buddy Hield picked right back up where he left off hitting yet another spot-up three and Nicolas Batum threw down a put-back slam. Philadelphia’s bench production, especially from those two once again bailed the 76ers out and were able to knot up the game in the non-Brunson minutes.
However, that didn’t last long as Jalen Brunson checked back in and hit four consecutive shots from a variety of areas, making great use of Hartenstein’s ball screens as Embiid was caught in drop coverage.
The 76ers started to press Brunson at full court and trap him around the top-of-the-key forcing him to dish it to a dive-cutting Josh Hart, who misfired on two shot attempts as a result. Kelly Oubre Jr. had a string of volatile offensive plays including a spot-up three and a put-back bucket to bring Philadelphia back within a possession down the stretch.
Brunson then got the step on Kelly Oubre Jr. and drew an and-one off a pull-up foul line jumper and Maxey, despite his struggles tonight, struck right back drawing a goaltend and a foul while driving to the basket and tying the game with less than a minute left.
One possession later, Brunson drew two defenders, leaving Hart wide-open, which proved costly as Brunson kicked it to Hart and he drilled a three that ultimately sealed the game.
The 76ers immediately played the foul game and Embiid fouled out in an attempt to do so. A few free throws later Philadelphia became eliminated from playoff contention.
Mandatory Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
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