PHILADELPHIA — Josh Hart's magnetic palm secured the basketball one last time Thursday night against the 76ers. As the buzzer sounded for New York's Game 6 victory over Joel Embiid and co., Buddy Hield's final shot clattered off the backboard like a missile aimed at Hart's ball, his 14th and final rebound. It became. The Knicks' finicky swingman, a 6-footer who averaged 12.3 boards per game this playoffs, is a -4 giant on the glass, then waved goodbye to the crowd and hit a 3-pointer with 24.4 seconds left in New York. It was a decisive dagger in the series victory, 118-115, and a 4-2 series victory. Hart held the game ball close by on his hip as he strutted around the court during the postgame chat with Philadelphia players and officials.
Jalen Brunson spots Hart amidst a sea of cameras, gives him a half-hug, and wraps his arms around his former college teammate and former college roommate as New York City prepares to play in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs starting Monday night. helped tie No. 6 seed Indiana. At Madison Square Garden. Brunson once again found magic on this floor in South Philadelphia, where he once played Big East home games alongside fellow Hart and Villanova product Donte DiVincenzo. And after Brunson scored another 41 points and 12 assists for the Sixers, becoming the seventh player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in three consecutive postseason games, he corralled Hart's muscular shoulders and Brunson A banner pointing to the two Navy's, marking the Wildcats' NCAA championship wins in 2016 and 2018, hangs from the rafters.
Brunson continued to watch from the sidelines, waiting for his TNT headset to beam the interview to Studio J in Atlanta. Throughout questions from Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, Brunson's eyes continued to stare at the blue flags, including the third flag honoring Villanova's 1985 title. All the while, Knicks president Leon Rose kept an emotional eye on the sensational point guard who was elevating the situation. New York franchise His Rose was on a mission to regain relevance.
Wearing a black low-top in front of the visitors' bench, Rose looked out at the hardwood forest, holding back tears. They all visit this stadium frequently. Rose once walked the back aisles of the arena as Allen Iverson's agent. Rose played his high school ball just above the Ben Franklin Bridge. The gymnasium where he scored more than 1,000 points in his career was right around the corner from his JCC, where Brunson would, decades later, hit shots with his friends after school. Shaking his head as he fought back tears, Rose's face lit up as Brunson finished his duties, and Rose wrapped the 27-year-old superstar in a big hug. They invaded enemy territory and faced a raucous band of Knicks fans who marched into the locker room with at least one series on their way to New York's second consecutive postseason appearance, the first time the franchise has won since 2000. It was the first time that he had achieved such success.
“Our chemistry and communication in the locker room, on and off the court, is special,” Brunson said.
Perhaps that connection was the special thing that ultimately separated New York from its rivals. After six games and one overtime, the Knicks prevailed over the Sixers by a one-point difference in the entire series. Before the finals were decided, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse was asked what he thought was the theme that decided all those precious games in this matchup, and the former champion didn't have any specifics. I didn't answer. “We determined that everything was fine,” the nurse said. “They kill us on the glass and it goes down to the buzzer. We kill them on the glass and it goes down to the buzzer. Joel scores his 50 and the buzzer goes off. Brunson scores 47 points until the buzzer sounds.
As expected, this match was decided at the last minute. Philadelphia had both Nic Batum and Kelly Oubre trapped against Brunson's handle a half-minute into the game. “They bombed,” Hart said. Although he had perfect vision from the top of the key, Hart's first instinct was to skip the pass from Brunson to DiVincenzo — DiVincenzo shot 5-of-9 from deep. He scored 23 points in the book and exploded in his best game of the series.
Maybe it was a subconscious pause to allow someone else, some other Wildcat, to sway luck in New York's favor. Had Hart missed two free throws in the final seconds of regulation in Game 5, it might have given the Knicks enough of a lead to hold off Philadelphia and end this situation sooner. “That loss weighed heavily on my shoulders,” Hart said. “It took me a day and a half to think about it. That's really all I was thinking about.”
Still, the Sixers didn't change course on him. Like in Game 1, Philadelphia left Hart on an island with nothing but the ocean between him and the rim, but Hart again won. After a moment's hesitation, I had no other choice. “There was a second where I thought, 'Okay, I saw how they do it without spinning,'” Hart said.
Hart played 46 minutes Thursday. He sat for less than 20 minutes of the entire series. “Josh is never close to coming out,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. Even after Hart tweaked his ankle in the first half, did the head coach ever really consider giving him a long breath? “It was a passing thought. I missed it,” Thibodeau said.
New York passed its first test of the postseason. They survived one of the toughest first-round battles in recent memory. Thibodeau didn't even get to enjoy this win until midnight, as he usually gives his players permission to do so. By the time they broke huddles in the locker room, Thursday had already turned into Friday, with the Knicks playing the Pacers.
