Philadelphia’s dismay is New York’s joy. All-Star guard Jalen Brunson scored 41 points Thursday night to lead the Knicks to a 118-115 win in Philadelphia.
The former Villanova star scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to finish off the series including a three-pointer with 24 seconds on the clock that wound up being the winning basket. New York also received big contributions from Josh Hart (16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists), and Donte DiVincenzo (23 points, 7 assists) — while both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein finished one rebound short of a double-double.
“Man, it felt great,” Hart said of the road victory. “We knew this was going to be a tough environment, it was a little tougher than last game because it was 2,500 seats that were taken up. But we knew it was going to be a battle and a grind, and got to give them credit. They made it a tough series, tough place to play.”
While the Knicks will move on to face the 6-seed Indiana Pacers, the 76ers are faced with another long offseason following a season that fell short of expectations. Joel Embiid did his best to lead the team to victory, scoring 39 points to go along with 13 rebounds. However, Kyle Lowry and Tobias Harris finished with zero points and Tyrese Maxey shot 6-of-18 on the night.
“I think the group of guys that we had this year, they were amazing,” Embiid said. “And I still believe that if everything went right, we had a chance. But everything didn’t go right.”
Speaking after the win, DiVincenzo gave Philadelphia its flowers.
“They’re a really good team,” DiVincenzo said. “They have really good players, and they’re really well coached. They’re not a normal 7-seed … [but] you work, you stay together, and this is what happens.”
