‘Let’s go Knicks’ could be heard thunderously in the Xfinity Mobile Arena of Philadelphia. They were not in New Yorkbut as if they had been. The pavilion of the Sixers was again taken over by the fans of the Knicks who celebrated each of the records that his team equaled or beat.
Although what they celebrated most was the passage to the Eastern Conference Finals. On their way they left the Sixers to those who made phosphatina with a blushing 114-144 that summarizes the game and almost the series, won by the New Yorkers, 4-0. It is the first tie with a sweep of the Knicks since 1999, before Atlanta Hawks also in the second round. That year, New York played in the NBA finals against the Spurs and they lost, 4-1.
The last game of this series, the last of the Sixers In the season, it was full of brands. The victory broke the best historical streak of the Knicks in Playoffs with seven in a row (three against the Hawks and four against the Sixers). And in the game, they equaled the number of triples scored in a quarter (the first with 11), at halftime (18) and in a postseason game (25, like the Cavaliers 2023). Those 25 triples were achieved with a 57% correct (25/44). A stupid thing. And the 144 points Finals are the franchise’s all-time high in the postseason.
The match had no more history. Sportingly it was a clash between men and boys, decided almost in the first act (24-43). At half-time the game was broken and it traveled to the pocket of the Knicks (57-81). At that time, the Sixers They had 51 points and the Knicks54 only from the three-point line, with very sharp players: McBride6/7, brunson4/8 and Hart3/5. Only Embiidthen with 19 points, responded in the Sixers.
Only players Philadelphia You will know if it was harder to lose sometimes by up to 42 (the maximum of the Knicks92-134) or that the rival would be more encouraged on your court. The Sixerswho did the trick by eliminating the Celticsthey say goodbye to the League through the cat flap, beaten in their own house… which didn’t even seem like theirs.
Scoring distribution in the winners with McBride 25 (7/9 in triples), Brunson 22, 17 Hart, 17 by Karl-Anthony Townswho also gave 10 assists, Bridges 12 and 12 of Shamet.Mike Brown He was able to put all the players called up for the game on the court.
In the Sixers, Joel Embiid and nothing more. The center finished with 24 points but without failure on field goals, 8/8 on two-pointers and 2/2 on triples. He only missed one free throw, 6/7. Maxey helped with 17 and Paul George He was left with 7 points in 27 minutes in another disappointing performance.
The Knicks They now await a rival for their second consecutive conference final. They will be the Detroit Pistonswho dominate 2-1, or the Cleveland Cavaliersin a series that is expected to be long.