New York’s progress was led by Brunson, Indiana also made it to the second round

The star of the Knicks, who played only seven players in the entire game, was Jalen Brunson, who collected 41 points and 12 assists. He made 12 of 16 free throws. Josh Hart hit a key three-pointer 25 seconds before the buzzer.

Both teams then converted several sixes, Buddy Hield was unable to equalize. His three-point attempt with two seconds left did not find its way into the basket, and the Sixers ended up in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Even Joel Embiid’s 39 points and 13 rebounds or Hield’s 20 points weren’t enough for them. The home team lost up to 22 points during the duel and at the very end it could no longer find the strength to turn the series around.

Editing of the match Philadelphia – New York:

“We made a lot of big plays in the fourth quarter. One after another,” praised Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. In addition to Brunson, his team relied on Donte DiVincenzo with 23 points or seven assists or Hart with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. OG Anunoby scored 19 points.

On the contrary, except for Embiid, the Sixers were not supported by experienced players. Tobias Harris didn’t give up a point in 29 minutes, nor did Kyle Lowry in 13 minutes. Usual scoring leader Tyrese Maxey remained at 17 points. “Everything could have been different. But it’s not,” summed up disappointed coach Nick Nurse.

The opponent of the Knicks in the second round will be Indiana, which took full advantage of another absence of Janis Adetokunbo and beat Milwaukee clearly 120:98. She thus advanced to the second round for the first time since 2014.

Indiana-Milwaukee Match Cut:

“Progress means a lot to us,” said TJ McConnell. “We are excited to extend our season and be the first Pacers team in a decade to advance. “Milwaukee has a great team, and our bench hasn’t been that competitive lately, but today we all took a step to be at a completely different level,” he added.

The substitutes led the Pacers in scoring: Obi Toppin with 21 points and eight rebounds and McConnell with 20 points and nine assists. Next to them, Pascal Siakam scored 19 points or Tyrese Haliburton 17. McConnell recorded his maximum in points and assists in the playoffs.

The guests relied on Damian Lillard with 28 points in the absence of key player Adetokunba, Brook Lopez scored 20 points and Bobby Portis scored 15 balls.